International Conference on Better Health for Women and Children through Family Planning: recommendations for action.

The importance of upgrading and revitalizing family planning programs so that health and human needs can be better met was addressed by 225 governmental and nongovernmental leaders from 60 countries at the International Conference on Better Health for Women and Children through Family Planning, in Nairobi, Kenya, 5-9 October 1987. Family planning as a health measure, to prevent unwanted and high-risk pregnancies and the resulting deaths of hundreds of thousands of mothers and children in the developing world, was the focus of the conference. It was sponsored by the major international organizations concerned with family health and population issues: International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the Population Council, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank. The Recommendations for Action arising from the conference and reprinted below are endorsed by all seven of these sponsoring organizations and agencies.