The Population Reference Bureau this week has released an important new data sheet Family Planning Worldwide 2008 that looks at the growing demand for family planning services.  Looking at two key factors—the growing number of young people entering their childbearing ages and the increased usage of contraceptives—the data sheet projects that there will be a “huge increase” in demand for family planning services in the years ahead. PRB’s report cites two reasons:

First, many women who do not now use family planning say they would like to control the number and timing of their children. In sub-Saharan Africa, about one-quarter of the married women of reproductive age fall into this category. They could constitute a large population of users if modern contraceptive methods become more easily accessible. Second, contraceptive use has increased in nearly every country in recent decades, whether they started at a very low level (as with Senegal) or a relatively high level (as with Colombia).

With Congress preparing to debate the level of funding for family planning and reproductive services in FY2009, this is an extraordinarily timely and valuable report.  Congratulations to Donna Clifton, Toshiko Kaneda and Lori Ashford, who prepared the new data sheet for PRB.