Thanks to international donors, and the Clinton Health Access Initiative, a German pharmaceutical company (Bayer), will cut the price of an implantable contraceptive for 27 million women in poor and developing countries. Instead of being normally priced at $18 for “Jadelle” implants, a matchstick-sized rod which slowly releases a birth-control hormone, the price will be cut in half. This implant lasts for five years and can be removed if a woman wants to have children. These implants are vital in poor countries because of the difficulty many woman face in reaching clinics far away from their homes, as well as hiding their contraceptive use. More importantly, it is crucial that industrialized countries continue to aid developing countries in proliferating the spread of contraceptives and other family planning services. According to the United Nations, the world population is expected to hit 10.1 billion by 2100, reaching 9.3 billion by the middle of the century. However, most of this growth will not be taking place in developed countries, instead it will be predominantly taking place in developing nations. The population of low-fertility countries, such as Europe and China, will decline by 20%, whereas middle-fertility countries, such as the United States, Mexico, and India, will increase by just 26%. The problem, however, is the population of high-fertility countries, mostly residing in sub-Saharan Africa, is expected to triple. The United Nations does say that this unstable growth is expected to decline, should the use of family planning services and and contraceptives become more widespread in those countries. Should this not happen, their population will continue to increase five or ten fold by the end of the century. These numbers are alarming, but we should keep in mind that the world population could become stable if countries more urgently collaborated on ways to give family planning resources to impoverished people. Even the Jadelle implant’s effectiveness is being disputed, since some studies show it does not protect from HIV/AIDS while others suggest otherwise. The UN strongly advises those who use it to continue using condoms as well to better protect against STDs. Since this leaves many African women to chose between elevated health risks and pregnancies or
