By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo
A new study released by the World Health Organization, The Lancet, the Guttmacher Institute, Rutgers and Community Collectives has revealed that global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, SRHR, stands at a crossroads where innovation and inequality collide.
The evidence was unveiled at the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP 2025), running Nov. 3-6 in Bogotá. Amid what is being called the most turbulent year for reproductive rights in a generation, the research shows global progress at a tipping point with financing gaps widening, access stalling, and communities stepping in to fill the void.
More than 3,500 delegates from 120 countries are meeting from Nov. 3-6, 2025, for the Seventh ICFP, where data released this week reveal both momentum and fragility for SRHR.
“Evidence is only as powerful as the action it inspires,” said Dr. Philip Anglewicz, director of the William H. Gates Sr. Institute and chair of the ICFP 2025 International Steering Committee. “This week, the global SRHR community is proving that research can do more than describe the world—it can change it.”
Several major studies anchor the ICFP 2025 scientific agenda this year: The Lancet / WHO Global SRHR Analysis, led by Dr. Saifuddin Ahmed, shows that sustained SRHR investment lowers maternal mortality, advances gender parity and strengthens national resilience.
“We are seeing what happens when data meets determination,” Ahmed said. “Investment in SRHR doesn’t just save lives; it strengthens economies, protects rights and builds the resilience societies need in times of crisis.”
Also released at ICFP 2025, two new Guttmacher Institute studies—Adding It Up and FP-Impact—show that investing in family planning is both lifesaving and economically smart. Meeting all SRHR needs in low- and middle-income countries would cost $104 billion annually but save $2.48 in health costs for every $1 spent. The findings also show contraceptive use increases women’s paid employment by up to 12% in countries like Kenya and Nigeria.
“Family planning doesn’t just save lives—it transforms women’s economic prospects,” said Onikepe Owolabi, vice president for international research at Guttmacher.
FP2030 Country Commitments also reveal encouraging momentum: Ghana, Kenya and Bangladesh have pledged to expand access to modern contraception and increase domestic financing, signaling renewed accountability toward 2030 targets.
“Countries see the evidence: family planning remains a development best buy,” said Dr. Samukeliso Dube, executive director of FP2030. “It’s worth prioritizing.”
Rutgers’ Comparative Study on Abortion Access in Central Africa, co-funded by the European Union, examines access for survivors of sexual violence, mapping legal and health-system barriers and emerging rights-based strategies in restrictive contexts.
In July, a Guttmacher analysis warned that more than 70 percent of global family-planning funding depends on a small group of donors, including nearly 40 percent from the United States, leaving millions vulnerable if political priorities shift.
The Donors Delivering for SRHR 2025 analysis by DSW and the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual & Reproductive Rights (EPF) shows that donor disbursements fell 27 percent in 2023 to $10.77 billion, just 4.3 percent of total official development assistance (ODA).
Despite rising overall aid, SRHR’s share continues to shrink, exposing widening gaps between political promises and financial realities. European donors provided roughly €1.65 billion in 2023, while domestic budgets in many low- and middle-income countries remain too limited to sustain essential services without external support.
As the data converge in Bogotá, ICFP 2025 stands as a checkpoint for SRHR accountability and ambition. The evidence reveals a world in motion defined by extraordinary innovation but shadowed by deep inequity and uneven political will.
From AI-driven health tools to youth-led movements and community-based financing models, progress is being redefined not only by what governments invest but by how communities adapt and lead.
“We have more data than ever before,” said Marta Royo, executive director of Profamilia. “But what will define the next decade is not how much we know, but how boldly we act. Evidence must drive equity—and equity must drive everything else.”
Throughout the week, ICFP 2025 will unveil new data releases and policy commitments shaping the future of SRHR. Daily updates, press briefings and interviews are available through the FPNN Media Lab and the ICFP press room.
