Family planning is notoriously one of the most politicised and divisive areas in development. Yet in July world leaders will descend on London for a global summit to raise "unprecedented political commitment and resources" to increase access to family planning information, services and supplies in developing countries.
How has such a taboo topic become a worldwide priority? What is driving this renaissance of interest in family planning? How do you tackle the practical – and political – challenges of expanding access? And what is at stake in these debates?
To discuss these issues, Annie Kelly is joined in the studio by Julia Bunting, head of the UK Department for International Development's reproductive health team, Yasmin Ahmed, senior regional director for Asia at Marie Stopes International, and Neil Datta, co-ordinator of the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development. They are joined on the phone from Bangalore by Gita Sen, professor at the Centre for Public Policy at the Indian Institute of Management.
We also hear from Sarah Boseley, the Guardian's health editor, Carmen Barrosso, western hemisphere director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Ney Costa, from the Brazilian NGO Bemfam, and from readers who commented on our talk point.
