The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development covers 17 goals, the third of which is “good health and well-being”, namely: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being at all ages. (Click here for details)

Under this major goal, there are 13 targets, the seventh of which is “By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs.”

● Current Situation

WHO defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not just the elimination of disease. Within this framework, reproductive health involves processes, functions and systems at all life stages. It implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life, the capability to reproduce, and the freedom to decide if, when, and how often to do so.

About the World

Promoting Family Planning and Improving People’s Health and Social Development

Among the 1.9 billion women of reproductive age group (15-49 years) worldwide in 2019, 1.1 billion have a need for family planning; of these, 842 million are using contraceptive methods, and 270 million have an unmet need for contraception. The proportion of the need for family planning satisfied by modern methods, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicator 3.7.1, was 75.7% globally in 2019, yet less than half of the need for family planning was met in Middle and Western Africa.

It is important to promote family planning and ensure females can use good contraceptive methods for protecting female’s happiness and autonomy, reducing infant mortality, preventing AIDS, slowing down population growth, and improving human health and social development. Family planning enables people to make informed choices of their own sexual and reproductive health.

Text and photo source: WHO website    

About China

Enhancing Public Heath and Implementing Family Planning Service

According to the 2016 Statistical Bulletin on the Development of Health and Family Planning in China issued by the National Health and Family Planning Commission on August 18, 2017, China has implemented a comprehensive two-child policy, family planning award and support policy, and promoted the equalization of basic public health and family planning services for the floating population.

Photo source: cnfood.com

In 2016, the number of new births nationwide was 18.46 million, representing an increase of more than 2 million over 2013, and the total fertility rate rose to more than 1.7. China launched the implementation of the health education and promotion action plan for the floating population, promoted healthy city and family planning service projects and widely disseminated the core information of health education. The health and family planning services covered around 87.4% of the floating population all over the country.

Text source: 2016 Statistical Bulletin on the Development of Health and Family Planning in China

●  Cases

About the World

Dance4Life Helps Young People Develop Healthy Relationship 

Dance4Life, originated in the Netherlands in 2004, is one of the most successful youth projects in the world. It envisions a world where all young people are able to shape their future the way they see it and a world in which they are able to make healthy sexual choices and develop healthy relationships. Dance4Life, in the form of popular dance, has been distributed in 18 countries in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia and influenced nearly 2 million young people around the world. Its positive energy brought by the globally unified dance and music has connected all the teenagers equally.

Photo source: dance4life.com

In July 2015, UNFPA China, China Family Planning Association and Dance4Life (Netherlands) began to launch the dance program in colleges and factories in Shenzhen and Wuhan. Dance4Life promotes healthy growth of young people through its “four steps”, namely, inspire, educate, activate and celebrate.

Text source: sohu.com

About China

Health Functions Integrated into Communities

Shenzhen has been actively involved in the construction of Healthy China and Health Shenzhen. The city has established health education teams to adapt to the new situation and prompted the transformation of community workers into health mentors. It has effectively improved the health knowledge level and dissemination ability of thousands of staff members. It will continue to strengthen the construction of community associations, consolidate the current 17 youth health clubs, 29 family health clubs and more than 300 fertility culture centers, so as to integrate the “health function” into the communities and promote the construction of Healthy Shenzhen.

Photo source:chinafpa.org.cn

On July 9, 2020, a community family health service station set up by the China Family Planning Association was launched in Yuanling Subdistrict, Futian District, Shenzhen. It was a new model to establish the “last kilometer” dissemination service, representing a new measure to promote family health and development as well as a symbol of the transformation of population work focus.

Text source: Shenzhen Evening News

●  Background

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Initiated by the United Nations

On January 1, 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including 169 targets, of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit — officially came into force. Countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.