Development and dissemination of a report wherin:

• Five former directors of the Population and Reproductive Health Program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) issue a call for renewed U.S. political and financial commitment to international family planning programs.

 • USAID has been the largest donor to international population and family planning efforts and a transformative source of leadership and innovation in the field. Its professional staff and technical resources are unparalleled among donor agencies.

 • However, its funding peaked in 1995 and has declined in real terms ever since, even as the worldwide demand for family planning and other reproductive health services has grown. As a result, many successful programs in developing countries have stagnated and global fertility decline has slowed.

 • At the beginning of a new administration and a new Congress, it is time to reverse the decline in U.S. political and financial commitment to this field of signature U.S. leadership and accomplishment, to satisfy the unmet need for services, and to improve women’s reproductive health worldwide. We estimate that USAID’s population budget should be increased to $1.2 billion.