London - The world economy would be boosted by billions of dollars if all women had access to contraception, the United Nations said in London on Wednesday in its annual State of World Population report.

The report said inadequate family planning in developing countries contributed significantly to poverty and ill health, and that $5.7 billion (4.5 billion euros) could be saved by preventing unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions.

"Family planning is not a privilege, but a right. Yet, too many women -- and men -- are denied this human right," said Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

"Women who use contraception are generally healthier, better educated, more empowered in their households and communities and more economically productive," Osotimehin added.

The report urges additional investments in  family planning that could save developing countries
more than $11 billion a  year in maternal and newborn health care costs, while
stressing that the  benefits of making services available to everyone are not
just economic.

“Family planning has a positive multiplier effect on  development,” said UNFPA’s
Executive Director, Babatunde Osotimehin. “Not only  does the ability for a
couple to choose when and how many children to have help  lift nations out of
poverty, but it is also one of the most effective means of  empowering women.”

“Women who use contraception are generally healthier, better  educated, more
empowered in their households and communities and more  economically productive.
Women’s increased labour-force participation boosts  nations’ economies,” he
added.

UNFPA’s flagship report states that increased access to  family planning has
proven to be a sound economic investment. One third of the  growth of Asian
‘tiger’ economies is attributed to a demographic shift in which  the number of
income-generating adults became higher than those who depended on  them for
support.

This shift, the report notes, was a consequence of family  planning and brought
increased productivity, leading to economic development in  the region.

One recent study predicts that if the fertility rate fell by  just one child per
woman in Nigeria  in the next 20 years, the country’s economy would grow by at
least $30 billion.

“And the benefits are not just economic,” the population agency  stated in a
news release, noting that the report finds that the costs of  ignoring the right
to family planning include poverty, exclusion, poor health  and gender
inequality.

Failing to meet the sexual and reproductive health needs of  adolescents and
young people in Malawi,  for example, contributed to high rates of unintended
pregnancy and HIV. In the United States,  the report showed that teenage
motherhood reduces a girl’s chances of obtaining  a high school diploma by up to
10 per cent.

“Family planning delivers immeasurable rewards to women,  families, and
communities around the world,” UNFPA stated. “By enabling  individuals to choose
the number and spacing of their children, family planning  has allowed women,
and their children, to live healthier, longer lives.”

The report notes that governments, civil society, health  providers and
communities have the responsibility to protect the right to family  planning for
all women, including those who are young or unmarried.

It also finds that financial resources for family planning  have declined and
contraceptive use has remained mostly steady. In 2010, donor  countries fell
$500 million short of their expected contribution to sexual and  reproductive
health services in developing countries. Contraceptive prevalence  has increased
globally by just 0.1 per cent per year over the last few years.

An additional $4.1 billion is necessary each year to meet  the unmet need for
family planning of all 222 million women who would use  family planning but
currently lack access to it, according to the report.

“Family planning is not a privilege, but a right. Yet, too  many women – and men
– are denied this human right,” added Dr. Osotimehin,  calling on world leaders
to close the funding gap and make voluntary family  planning a development
priority.

The report estimates that some 222 million women currently have insufficient access to contraceptives.

It described "an array of economic benefits" created by family planning, including a rise in the number of women in the workforce and wealthier households as the number of children in each home decreases.

It also cited one study that attributed a third of the growth in the Asian "tiger" economies to increased use of contraceptives, which caused a drop in the number of children dependent on every working adult.

If an additional 120 million women who want contraceptives could get them by 2020, the report added, an estimated three million fewer babies would die in their first year of life.

"Family planning delivers immeasurable rewards to women, families, and communities around the world," the UNFPA said.

However, the report  noted that global funding for family planning has declined and an extra $4.1 billion would be needed each year to fund contraceptives for everyone who needs them in developing countries.