In a press release on 1st April, the British Department for International Development announced that it would increase its annual contribution to IPPF by 25% for 2006 and 2007.

Steven Sinding, Director General, IPPF, said "This generous contribution from the UK Government will greatly help our member associations scale up efforts globally to ensure that women have both choice and control over their sexual and reproductive lives."

Meanwhile, UNFPA preliminarily announced that Japan has indicated that it will cut its 2005 regular contribution to the UN organization by 5% based on the 2004 level, dropping it to fifth place as a contributor to UNFPA.

European nations now account for more than 80% of UNFPA contributions.

Since 1997, Japan has reduced its official development assistance (ODA) budget by over 30%. Now, as it seeks to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, cutting support for international health and development tends to deliver mixed messages to the international community about its sincerity as a world player.