By Samantha Singson
NEW YORK, June 28, 2007(C-FAM.org) – A report just issued by UNFPA to its executive board shows that the top ten donor nations to the organization are largely white, have fertility rates well below replacement level, have some of the highest contraceptive prevalence rates in the world and also have the most liberal abortion laws in the world.
The combined donations from these countries, including the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, United Kingdom, Japan, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Canada and Switzerland, make up 85.6% of UNFPA’s total $389 million revenue from contributions.
With the exception of Japan, each of the top UNFPA donor countries has contraceptive prevalence rates well above 70%. The average fertility rate for the top ten donor countries is 1.59. None of the top UNFPA donor countries comes close to achieving a replacement-level fertility rate.
While UNFPA refuses to release detailed reports on its program contributions, development experts point out that UNFPA spends most of its donors’ money in the largely non-white countries in the global south. “The fact is that UNFPA and its white donor countries are targeting poor black and brown countries for fertility reduction,” one UN-development expert told the Friday Fax.
In a 2005 UN survey of the world’s population policies, a closer look at the top UNFPA donor countries reveals that all of them are currently experiencing a demographic decline. Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, Finland and Canada all cited the growing aging population and dwindling size of the working population as a “major concern”. Japan, Finland, Canada and Switzerland acknowledged that fertility was “too low” in their countries and they were in the process of pursuing policies to raise the fertility level.
The demographic decline of the top UNFPA donor countries is becoming a subject of increasing importance as global fertility rates continue to drop. According to demographic and population experts, approximately half of the world’s population already lives in sub-replacement countries.
Population experts, such as Phillip Longman, cite the close connection between economic growth and population. Longman’s recent book, “The Empty Cradle: How Falling Birthrates Threaten World Prosperity and What to Do About It” details the dangers of population decline for global prosperity.
UNFPA funding continues to be a hot-button issue for the US government. Since 2002, the Bush administration has withheld its annual $34 million contribution from UNFPA because of the organization’s involvement in China’s oppressive one-child policy. Known as the Kemp-Kasten amendment, US law prohibits taxpayer dollars from supporting international organizations which support coercive abortion practices or involuntary sterilization.
In May, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D – NY) and Rep. Michael Honda (D – Calif.) co-sponsored a bill which would reinstate the $34 million contribution to UNFPA, but with funds earmarked for the UNFPA’s “Ending Fistula” campaign.
UNFPA encourages countries to submit multi-year pledges to assure a steady flow of funds. As of June 1, 2007, $417 million had been pledged, but only $45 million for 2008. Few countries have committed funds beyond next year.