Pacific Island governments and donor countries are being warned not to cut back on funding for sexual health programmes during the global economic recession.
The President of the US-based Guttmacher Institute, Dr Sharon Camp, says for every dollar a government spends helping poor women to plan their families it will save two to four dollars on maternal and childcare for unwanted pregnancies and the treatment of unsafe abortions.
Dr Camp says it's inevitable that donor countries such as New Zealand will reduce the aid they provide for sexual and reproductive health services as they focus on their domestic needs.
"There is some hint that in Western Europe where governments have been leading the way in terms of the percent of GNP that they spend on development aid, there we are in fact starting to see some cutbacks and that's very worrisome. The US and other countries won't be far behind I fear."
Dr Camp says the benefits of investing in family planning can be seen in the success of Asian countries in the Western Pacific, such as Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand.
