Unmet Family Planning Need Globally: A Clarion Call for Sharpening Current Research Frame Works.

Vijayan K Pillai, SP 1 sp Julieann Lynn Nagoshi SP 2 sp SP 1 sp School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA; SP 2 sp Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center, School of Social Work, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, USA Correspondence: Vijayan K Pillai, School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, 211 South Cooper Street, Arlington, TX, 76019, USA, Email [email protected] Introduction Contraceptive use was a contentious issue during the course of the 19th century with it being illegal to provide contraception information in the US well into the 20th century.[1],[2] In a rapid about-face, the period that followed was marked by the introduction of several birth control methods as well as a feverish stage of contraceptive research and development.[3] The impetus for the innovations in birth control technology was provided by Margaret Sanger, whose activism paved the way for the landmark 1965 Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut which overturned the ban on contraceptives for married couples.[4] In the 1900s, the family planning movement took hold in the US, during a period of intense concern over the socio-economic consequences of overpopulation, poverty, and insecurity, as foretold by Malthus more than two centuries ago.[4] As early as the second decade of the twentieth century, organizations, such as the International Labor Organizations had declared "Poverty anywhere is poverty everywhere".[5] Partly as a measured defense against security concerns, Dr Reimert Ravenholt, the first director of the Office of Population at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and Global family planning assistance program spearheaded a massive international family planning program primarily to contain poverty.[6] He oversaw the disbursement of nearly 1.4 billion dollars for family planning programs worldwide during his 14 years at the office, 1965-1979. [Extracted from the article]