Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good morning, members.
The Guttmacher Institute is a leading research and policy organization committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, or SRHR, worldwide.
We're at a critical juncture globally. We've achieved substantial progress over the last few decades. The number of women using modern contraception has risen, unintended pregnancy has been declining globally, maternal deaths are dropping and legal access to abortion is expanding. However, as of 2019 there were 218 million women in low- and middle-income countries with an unmet need for modern contraceptive methods. This resulted in 111 million unintended pregnancies annually and 35 million unsafe abortions. We're also at risk of backsliding on the progress that we've achieved, with a global opposition to SRHR that's emboldened by the recent overturning of Roe in the United States.
I want to highlight for the committee today two main areas where greater investment and leadership are needed to ensure SRHR globally. First, through our decades of conducting research with global partners, the data clearly shows that investing in a comprehensive package of sexual and reproductive health services is a smart and cost-savings investment that protects health and saves lives. Investing in a comprehensive package of services can result in substantial gains. For example, if all women in low- and middle-income countries wanting to avoid a pregnancy were to use modern contraception, and all pregnant women and their newborns were to receive care at international standards, we would see a two-thirds decline in unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal and newborn deaths, and an 88% drop in HIV infections among babies six weeks and younger.
When investments are made in a comprehensive package of services, there are also important cost savings to the health system. Every additional dollar that's invested in modern contraceptive services would save three dollars on pregnancy-related and newborn care through preventing unintended pregnancies. Investing in maternal and newborn health is essential and important, but it is insufficient on its own. A comprehensive investment is necessary to really make an impact in reducing preventable maternal deaths, ensuring bodily autonomy and reducing health systems costs.
The second point I want to make to the committee is that global leadership is needed now to protect and expand on the gains that we have achieved in safe abortion access. People around the world have and need abortions. That is not going to change. Globally, more than 60% of all unintended pregnancies end in abortion. That’s 73 million abortions annually. Legal restrictions do not stop abortions from happening. We find no evidence that the abortion rate differs in countries where abortion is restricted versus where it is legally allowed. Abortion restrictions instead lead to more unsafe abortions. There are an estimated 21 million abortion complications annually in low- and middle-income countries. However, if all unsafe abortions were made safe, that would drop to two million, and there would be a 45% reduction in the health system costs of providing abortion care. Providing safe abortion care saves lives, respects rights and reduces costs.
The United States has become a global outlier by eliminating the right to abortion. This is in stark contrast to decades of progress on abortion rights, with the global trend towards liberalization of abortion laws. Nearly 60 countries have expanded the legal grounds for abortion since 1994. We need global leadership to support countries in their efforts to expand safe abortion access. Supporting safe abortion means investing and filling the evidence gaps, it means strengthening advocacy and it means expanding access to abortion services.
Canada has made a historic commitment to SRHR. My team at the Guttmacher Institute has conducted two studies estimating the impact of Canada's investment in family planning over the last few years. We find that as of fiscal year 2020-21, Canada invested $63.5 million in family planning. That resulted in 2.5 million women and couples receiving contraceptive services, preventing 1.1 million unintended pregnancies and 347,000 unsafe abortions, and resulting in 1,800 lives saved.
Canada can have similar impacts on the other neglected areas of SRHR. We're facing a global backlash, but countless allied low- and middle-income country governments and civil society organizations want to secure comprehensive SRHR in their countries. To do this they need support, and they need Canada's support. They need data and evidence to support their efforts. They need funding to expand services within their health systems. They need political support and strong and vocal global leadership.
How countries respond to sexual and reproductive health and rights is really a story about how much societies do and do not value women.
Canada has made its voice clear that it values women through its feminist international assistance policy and its historic new funding commitment to SRHR.
I hope that the facts and evidence I have shared today demonstrate why it's imperative that Canada continues to put these values into action on the global stage.
Thank you very much.