THE POLICY OF THE SAVE-THE-CHILDREN-FUND-UK

The choices available to people deciding on family size are determined by cultural, economic an social considerations. Before any realistic and acceptable action can be advised, which might influence family siz e and population growth, it is necessary to understand the balance bet ween resource availability and consumption, access to contraceptive te chnology, and the social and cultural influences under which people li ve. Any intervention should seek to increase the range of choices avai lable to people and to create the conditions which enable them to affo rd those choices. It is in the poorer parts of the world that populati on growth is greatest and choices are most limited. Inequitable resour ce distribution globally is at the root of high population growth rate s in poorer areas. Excessive consumption patterns in the industrialize d countries pose as great a threat to the development of a sustainable global environment as do the high growth rates in the developing coun tries. There is no technological short cut to limiting population grow th. For any service, including family spacing, to have a significant i mpact over a long period of time, it must be delivered through a secur e, reliable and effective system to families who fully understand the benefits and the implications, and whose choice is informed and made f reely.