Earth Day 2006
International Family Planning Saves the Earth
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| Source: PAHO |
Human activity has affected every part of the planet, from the most remote to the most populated areas, and every ecosystem, from the simplest to the most complex. Because human population numbers have doubled since 1960 to well over 6 billion, our footprint on the earth is impossible to miss.
In light of this critical relationship between people and their environments, USAID has supported Population, Health, and Environment (PHE) programs linking conservation efforts with health and family planning services.
One-sixth of the world’s population lives in areas with delicate ecosystems and high biodiversity known as ecological “hotspots.” People who live in hotspots have the largest impact on their fragile environments. Unfortunately, individuals cannot exercise adequate stewardship over their natural resources unless their basics needs for health, nutrition, and economic well-being are addressed. Improving access to health information and services, including reproductive health and family planning, is one of USAID’s primary missions.
Currently, USAID supports PHE programs in eight countries: Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, Kenya, Madagascar, Nepal, the Philippines, and Tanzania.
Benefits of USAID’s Population, Health, and Environment Programs
USAID believes that addressing conservation and health needs in an integrated fashion results in added value to its programs, including:
- Increasing remote and underserved populations’ access to family planning and reproductive health services
- Increasing the use of modern contraceptive methods
- Easing population pressures on local ecosystems
- Enhancing management and conservation of natural resources
- Improving household revenue and food security
- Encouraging women and youth to become more involved in conservation efforts
- Encouraging men to become more involved in their family’s reproductive health decisionmaking
- Meeting communities’ needs in a holistic manner
- Creating synergistic programs that are cost-effective and efficient
Program Highlights
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| Scientists study the coral reef in the Philippines. Source: USAID/Brian Stockwell |
Biodiversity Hotspots in the Philippines
Focusing on communities in the Philippines’ endangered coastal reef areas, the Integrated Population and Coastal Resource Management (IPOPCORM) project protects and manages reefs, provides family planning education and access to contraceptives, and encourages fisherman and their families to pursue other livelihoods by providing training and access to microcredit. Community peer educators stage plays about the connection between food shortages, over-fishing, and large families. Individuals who have switched from fishing to seaweed farming are making more pesos in the same amount of time and are helping to reduce the problem of over-fishing.
Healthy Families, Healthy Forests in Cambodia
USAID supports the Khmer Daeum in regaining stewardship over their land and replenishing natural resources that were lost during the Vietnam War. The Khmer Daeum are learning about the link between smaller, healthier families and a thriving environment. They are also receiving health services for the first time. In addition, they collaborate in participatory land use planning in order to effectively manage their cleared lands and reduce their impact on the Cardamom Mountains, one of the last remaining virgin forests in Southeast Asia.
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Partners
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