Population and Reproductive Health
Two themes form the core of this grantmaking:

• Reducing maternal mortality and morbidity
• Advancing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people

The Foundation's work on maternal mortality will increase the chances that women will have safer pregnancies and deliveries, a worthy goal in itself, but also an indicator of the availability of services that are needed for women to make informed reproductive choices.   The focus on young people is expected to increase the likelihood that they will make wise choices about their sexual activities. Given the effects of population momentum and the large cohort of young people, any delay in childbearing will have a major effect on population growth rates.

Maternal Mortality and Morbidity
Maternal mortality is an area in which little progress has been observed in the last decade; it is also the area in which the most dramatic differences exist between richer and poorer countries. Most maternal deaths are preventable, given sufficient resources.

Strategies
The Foundation supports efforts of civil society organizations that are effective in analyzing how public funds are allocated and in providing a sound basis for budget allocations for health. While a solution in this area lies partly in the hands of the health system, it is also dependent on the educational and legal systems. Women need access to good care, but they also need an enabling legal environment to avoid unsafe abortion, one of the major causes of maternal death and morbidity. Women's health needs must be recognized in the first instance by their partners and their immediate families. Comprehensive sexuality education programs that foster gender equality can cultivate this recognition. The Foundation supports civil society organizations that work for changes needed in health, education, and legal policies and help to create the political will needed for their implementation. Special attention is given to activities that focus on increased budgets for maternal health, decreased deaths from abortion, and improved access to quality emergency obstetric care.

Young People's Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
The sexual and reproductive decisions made by today's youth will have great impact on their personal lives and on society. Indeed, the largest contribution to the size of the world population in the future comes from population momentum, and an important way to diminish its effects is to increase the interval between generations - that is, by postponing the birth of the first child. From a reproductive health standpoint, adolescents are especially vulnerable. They have extremely high rates of maternal mortality, are targets of sexual assault, and have STD and HIV infection rates that are higher than among adults.

Strategies
The Foundation supports initiatives that increase the availability of gender-sensitive sexuality education and confidential youth-friendly health services.  For example, the Foundation will support model sexuality programs for in and out of school youth, improve young people's access to reproductive health services, and promote an enabling environmental for young people to seek those services.

Advancing National Policy
The Foundation has taken several factors into consideration in developing its work in population and reproductive health in India. Two main themes are consistent with India's National Population Policy 2000, which reaffirms the India government's commitment to achieve rapid stabilization of the country's population. That policy6 includes, as a goal, reducing the maternal mortality ratio to less than 100 per 100,000 live births, promoting delayed marriage for girls, achieving 80 percent institutional deliveries and 100 percent deliveries by trained birth attendants, and addressing the unmet need for basic reproductive and child health services.

Geographic Focus
In its grantmaking in India, the Foundation works at the national level by providing grants to institutions engaged in training, research, and policy-related information activities as part of an effort to encourage national discussion of population and reproductive health issues. MacArthur also focuses on three states in India - Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.

Funding
Grants are awarded only to organizations that define clear objectives for their work and measures of progress toward those objectives. Typically, the Foundation provides multi-year support.  Proposals must fit clearly within the geographic and thematic priorities of the Population and Reproductive Health area to be considered.
Organizations interested in applying for support should submit a letter of inquiry to the Foundation. The format for these letters can be found in How to Apply.

Questions about this grantmaking area can be e-mailed to population at the MacArthur Foundation.