Effective national health and education programs that include family planning can help developing nations develop economically and climb out of poverty, the UN Population Fund, or UNFPA, said on Monday.

"Better health, including reproductive health, and education contribute to economic growth," the UNFPA said in the 2002 edition of its annual "State of World Population" report.

"Better education helps women to protect their own and their children's health and widens economic choices. Higher incomes improve living environments, reduce malnutrition and provide a buffer against the costs of poor health," it said.

Reuters reports that the UNFPA report called on wealthy countries to give more aid to poor nations for health, education and family planning, and urged developing nations to better tailor their programs to the poor, leaving them with more money to spend on other pressing needs.

The report said education spending in almost all countries is skewed toward serving the wealthy and urged governments to refocus their efforts on raising enrollment among the poor. Investment in basic health services in the developing world is also woefully inadequate, it said, estimating that poor countries on average spend just $21 per person on health care.

It cited World Health Organization and World Bank estimates that another $30 billion a year would be needed to provide adequate basic health care around the world.

"More social investment is required to promote better health, allow parents to have the number of children they wish, encourage further declines in fertility and enable better education and life choices," the report said. Poor health eats away at capacity, productivity and earnings, while longer life expectancy - a key indicator of improved health status - stimulates economic growth, it said.