º£½Ç»»ÆÞ2020 was featured in a blog post by Melinda Gates (Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), "We're Falling Behind on Family Planning: 5 Ways To Get Us Back On Track" published February 3, 2016 in the Huffington Post. º£½Ç»»ÆÞ2020 is listed as the #1 reason for optimism in 2016, according to Melinda Gates.
Four years ago, I stood with an international alliance of family planning advocates to set an ambitious goal for the world. We pledged that by 2020, 120 million more women and girls would have access to the family planning services they want and need to live their healthiest, best lives.
The good news is that, thanks to our collective efforts, over the last four years, tens of millions of unintended pregnancies have been avoided.
The bad news is that if we continue at current rates, we will fall short of our goal, breaking our promise to millions of women.
The consequences of failure are huge  --  for women, for their children, for everyone. An unplanned pregnancy often means that girls are forced to drop out of school and that women can no longer work outside the home, both of which contribute to keeping families and communities trapped in cycles of poverty. Unplanned pregnancies also carry significant health risks to both women and their children.
These 120 million women and girls are counting on us to keep our promise. We need to get back on track now.
Here are five reasons why I am optimistic that 2016 will be the turning point towards a future full of promise for millions of women and girls.
1. Data
There is a data revolution going on in family planning that is helping to focus support where it's needed. It all comes from an innovative smartphone-based system called Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 (º£½Ç»»ÆÞ2020). The data mean governments are better informed than ever before and better able to respond more quickly to what women need and want...
The same blog post was published on Melinda Gates' blog.