WaterAid UK was founded in 1981 in response to the United Nations Decade of Drinking Water and Sanitation. WaterAid says that it "deal[s] solely with water, sanitation and hygiene issues."
In July 2012 WaterAid issued a statement congratulating the UK government for organising an London Summit on Family Planning, co-organised by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The summit aimed to promote the provision of contraceptives, including hormonal contraceptives that can act abortifaciently. This summit was strongly supported by international pro-abortion organisations such as the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Marie Stopes International (MSI), and Ipas. In its statement, WaterAid stated: "contraception is indeed a critical factor for family planning."
In an email to a supporter (19/12/2013), WaterAid stated:
"WaterAid focuses solely on the provision of safe water, sanitation and improved hygiene, and we have no involvement on the issue of birth control. We do, however, recognise the various factors that are involved. High birth rates can be a symptom of a lack of women’s empowerment. This can be the case if they are not able to choose how many children they have, due, for example, to a lack of education or lack of access to contraceptives. High birth rates can also be a symptom of poverty and underdevelopment. Where child mortality is very high people tend to have more children.
"Poor households also tend to have more children in order help grow food and earn money for the family. Improving women’s rights and economic development is among the most important factors leading to a reduction in population growth ... Shortly after the USA, Europe and Japan become industrialised, there followed a reduction in population growth. We can therefore expect a similar trend as poor countries become more developed. We should therefore expect a delay of some years before the impact of economic development is seen in terms of reduced population growth."
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