The Family Planning 2020 meeting co-hosted by the UK government, the United Nations Population Fund and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was held on World Population Day.
Around $3.3 billion AUD was expected to be raised at the conference, more than half coming from countries in Africa and Asia.
Guests included officials from countries such as Afghanistan, Burundi, Indonesia, Mali and Zimbabwe, as well as from private companies and partner organisations.
Speaking at the summit, Melinda Gates, who is the wife of billionaire Bill Gates, described contraceptives as “one of the greatest anti-poverty innovations the world has ever known", and called for family planning to be prioritised.
She also took a swipe at US President Donald Trump, saying she was “deeply troubled” by news of his crackdown on funding for family planning initiatives.
“This is a difficult political climate for family planning,” she said.
Mr Trump has promised to cut funding to the United Nations Population Fund, which deals with family planning and sexual health, as well as stopping US money going to overseas groups that perform or even give information regarding abortions.
Three new countries have announced they will commit to strategies around sexual health, reproductive rights and family planning.
Chad wants to increase the amount of people using modern contraceptive methods, focusing on the reproductive rights of adolescents and young people – including sexual education, and work to include religious and traditional leaders in the promotion and creation of services.
Increasing government spending on contraceptives and the creation of a committee on reproductive health are on the agenda for Haiti, along with strengthening connections between family planning and HIV/AIDs programs.
Meanwhile, South Sudan says it wants to work towards removing both institutional and social barriers to sexual and reproductive health, as well as improving access to services and information and reducing maternal mortality rates by 10 per cent.
Canada has also pledged to take a comprehensive approach to reproductive and sexual health, looking at programs that respond to sexual and gender-based violence and child marriage, and empowering women and girls to know their rights and services they are entitled to.
More than 2 million women and girls in developing countries don't have access to contraception.
The economic benefit of universal access to these types of services has been estimated at more than $563 billion AUD a year.
- with wires
