Millions of women denied birth control in world's poorest countries

Millions of women and girls in developing countries chance risky abortions and unintended pregnancies, a global initiative to provide the world's poorest women with contraception said.

The Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) campaign, which launched at a London Summit in 2012, aims to help 120 million women with no access to contraception, by 2020. The initiative is set to miss its target.

"Unless we speed up progress now, we will not fulfil our promise to women and girls for 2020," FP2020 said in a report published on Tuesday.

Now at its halfway point, the campaign has given more than 30 million women and girls access to contraception. That is nearly 20 million short of its target.

Modern family planning, such as the use of contraceptives, allows women to space births and delay childbearing, reducing maternal and child mortality. It also enhances economic development by increasing women's ability to work and invest in their children's health and education.

The group estimates that 800 women die daily due to pregnancy-related issues, the leading cause of death for teenage girls in the developing world.

According to FP2020, there are more than 225 million women and girls in developing countries who want, but cannot get, reliable access to contraception.

However, the report added that 300 million women in the world's poorest 69 countries now use contraception, a 50 percent increase since 2003.

The success of FP2020 is crucial in ensuring global access to sexual and reproductive health by 2030, which is the target of the new development agenda adopted by the world leaders in 2015, the report further said.