Focus on Family Health Worldwide Act of 2005 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to provide assistance for voluntary family planning programs in developing countries, including activities to: (1) improve public knowledge of voluntary family planning programs; (2) support public and private voluntary family planning programs, including networks for community-based and subsidized commercial distribution of contraceptives; (3) expand training for health care providers and educators; (4) provide improved coordination between voluntary family planning programs and programs that receive U.S. assistance for the prevention of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections; and (5) strengthen supply chain logistics for the procurement and distribution of safe contraceptives, including coordination with the supply chain for HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment. Gives priority to developing countries with acute family planning and maternal health needs.
Authorizes appropriations.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4188 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4188
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to improve voluntary family
planning programs in developing countries, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 1, 2005
Ms. McCollum of Minnesota (for herself, Mr. Ramstad, Mr. Oberstar, and
Mr. Shays) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to improve voluntary family
planning programs in developing countries, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Focus on Family Health Worldwide Act
of 2005''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Since 1965, the people and Government of the United
States have supported international voluntary family planning
programs, increasing the use of modern contraceptives in the
developing world from fewer than 10 percent of couples in 1965
to more than 40 percent of couples today.
(2) United States funding for international family planning
is today providing services to 20 million couples in the
world's poorest countries, contributing to family well-being by
improving maternal health, reducing maternal and infant deaths,
preventing abortions, and improving the lives of millions of
families.
(3) The United States spends on average three cents per
American per week for international family planning programs.
(4) In the developing world, the use of modern
contraceptives reduces unintended pregnancies and the
probability that a woman will have an abortion by 85 percent.
(5) President George W. Bush has stated that one of the
best ways to prevent abortion is by providing quality voluntary
family planning programs.
(6) In developing countries at least 120 million married
couples who would like to postpone their next pregnancy, or
have no more children, do not have access to or are not using
modern contraception.
(7) In sub-Saharan Africa, 46 percent of women who desire
to delay or end childbearing remain without access to voluntary
family planning and at risk of unintended pregnancy.
(8) Each year more than 525,000 women die from causes
related to pregnancy and childbirth with 99 percent of these
deaths occurring in developing countries. An additional eight
million women each year suffer serious health complications
from pregnancy and childbirth.
(9) A lack of birth spacing resulting in birth intervals of
9 to 14 months increases the risk of maternal death by 250
percent.
(10) Birth spacing of at least 36 months is associated with
the lowest mortality risk for infants and children under five
years of age.
(11) Approximately 10.8 million children under the age of
five die each year, more than 30,000 every day, frequently from
low birth-weight or from causes related to complications in the
mother's pregnancy.
(12) Providing access to modern contraception in less
developed countries could prevent 1.4 million infant deaths and
142,000 maternal deaths annually.
(13) Linking family planning programs with HIV/AIDS
prevention, care, and treatment programs helps to meet the
multiple health needs of couples while effectively using scarce
financial and human resources.
(14) For HIV-positive women, family planning is the most
efficacious and cost-effective intervention to prevent
unintended pregnancies, decrease the risk of maternal death,
and avoid the transmission of HIV from mother-to-child,
premature birth, low birth weight, or infant death.
(15) Rapid population growth over-stresses vital resources,
such as water, agricultural land, forests, and wildlife,
contributing to extreme poverty, infectious disease, limited
access to education, environmental destruction, food
insecurity, and resultant malnutrition.
(16) Malnutrition in children is a contributing factor to
more than one-half of all child mortality, and malnutrition in
mothers account for a substantial proportion of neonatal
mortality.
(17) United States-funded family planning programs have
been successfully linked with the conservation of natural
resources to ease growing population pressures, improve food
security, and keep families healthy and communities
economically viable.
(18) Between 2005 and 2050, if family planning needs remain
unmet, the population is expected to grow by more than 300
percent in the developing countries of Afghanistan, Burkina
Faso, Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the
Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, the
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, and Uganda.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that it should be a United States
policy objective to--
(1) partner with developing countries to expand access to
voluntary family planning programs and the supply of modern
contraceptives in order to--
(A) meet growing demand to allow couples to achieve
their desired family size;
(B) reduce maternal and child mortality;
(C) reduce unintended pregnancies and resulting
abortions;
(D) reduce the incidence of HIV transmission from
mother-to-child and extend the lives of HIV-positive
women thus reducing the number of orphaned children;
(E) conserve vital natural resources, including
water, agricultural land, and forested lands;
(F) improve food security; and
(G) enhance opportunities for lasting social and
economic development; and
(2) strengthen public heath initiatives worldwide by
provide training, research, and services for a wide variety of
modern contraceptives and family planning methods that are
designed and implemented based on--
(A) community participation;
(B) the needs and values of beneficiaries; and
(C) adherence to the principles of voluntary
participation and informed consent.
SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO IMPROVE VOLUNTARY FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMS IN
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.
(a) Amendments.--Section 104(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151b(b)) is amended--
(1) in the first sentence, by striking ``In order to'' and
inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--In order to''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(2) Assistance to improve voluntary family planning
programs.--
``(A) In general.--The President, acting through
the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development, is authorized to provide
assistance, on such terms and conditions as the
President may determine, to improve voluntary family
planning programs in developing countries.
``(B) Activities supported.--Assistance provided
under subparagraph (A) shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, be used to--
``(i) improve public knowledge of voluntary
family planning programs, including the
availability of modern contraceptives and the
health, economic, and natural resource benefits
of voluntary family planning for individuals,
families, and communities;
``(ii) support a wide range of public and
private voluntary family planning programs,
including networks for community-based and
subsidized commercial distribution of modern
contraceptives;
``(iii) expand formal and informal training
for health care providers, health educators,
including peer educators and outreach workers,
managers, traditional birth attendants,
counselors, and community-based distribution
agents;
``(iv) provide improved coordination
between voluntary family planning programs and
programs that receive United States Government
assistance for the prevention of HIV/AIDS and
other sexually transmitted infections, the
prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission,
and the testing, treatment, and care of persons
infected with HIV/AIDS and affected by HIV/AIDS
to strengthen activities under such programs
and enhance the cost-effectiveness of such
programs; and
``(v) strengthen supply chain logistics for
the procurement and reliable distribution of
safe and effective modern contraceptives,
including coordination with the supply chain
for HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment,
to allow for maximum efficiency and cost-
savings.
``(C) Priority.--In providing assistance under this
paragraph, priority shall be given to developing
countries with acute family planning and maternal
health needs based on criteria such as--
``(i) the level of unmet need for voluntary
family planning and modern contraceptives;
``(ii) fertility rates;
``(iii) high-risk birth rates;
``(iv) the number of births unattended by
skilled attendants;
``(v) maternal mortality rates;
``(vi) rates of mortality for infants and
children under the age of five;
``(vii) abortion rates;
``(viii) the level of HIV/AIDS in women of
reproductive age; and
``(ix) additional criteria or country
conditions, such as conflict, humanitarian
crisis, large populations of refugees or
internally displaced persons, or areas in which
population growth threatens food security,
vital natural resources, biodiversity, or
endangered species.
``(D) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
``(i) AIDS.--The term `AIDS' has the
meaning given the term in section 104A(g)(1) of
this Act.
``(ii) HIV.--The term `HIV' has the meaning
given the term in section 104A(g)(2) of this
Act.
``(iii) HIV/AIDS.--The term `HIV/AIDS' has
the meaning given the term in section
104A(g)(3) of this Act.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The authority to provide assistance under
section 104(b)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by
subsection (a), applies with respect to fiscal year 2007 and subsequent
fiscal years.
SEC. 5. REPORT.
(a) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, the President, acting
through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, shall transmit to the Committee on International Relations
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations
of the Senate a report on the implementation of section 104(b)(2) of
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section 4(a)).
(b) Contents.--The report shall include--
(1) a description of efforts to implement the policies set
forth in section 104(b)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961;
(2) a description of the programs established pursuant to
such section; and
(3) a detailed assessment of the impact of programs
established pursuant to such section, including--
(A) an estimate of annual expenditures on modern
contraceptive commodities and activities in support of
voluntary family planning programs on a country-by-
country basis, to be based on information supplied by
national governments, donor agencies, and private
sector entities, to the maximum extent practicable;
(B) an assessment by country of the current unmet
need for, availability, and use of modern
contraception;
(C) an assessment of prior year and proposed
allocations of modern contraceptives in voluntary
family planning assistance by country, which describes
how each country's allocation meets the country's
needs; and
(D) a description of the quality of funded
voluntary family planning programs, as measured by
survey data or best available estimates, including--
(i) types of modern contraceptive methods
offered to significant subgroups (defined by
age, gender, income, and health profile, among
others) on a reliable basis;
(ii) information provided to beneficiaries
to enable decision making regarding benefits,
risks, and efficacy of modern contraceptives;
(iii) mechanisms to encourage
sustainability of voluntary family planning
programs; and
(iv) voluntary family planning programs
that are effective in responding to individual
health needs of beneficiaries.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the President to carry
out section 104(b)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added
by section 4(a) of this Act--
(1) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2007;
(2) $700,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
(3) $800,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;
(4) $900,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and
(5) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
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