Join FP2020 by Making a Commitment

In August 2015, the Government of Mauritania shared an update on progress in achieving its financial and program and service delivery commitments to FP2020.

• The implementation of Mauritania’s national action plan for family planning is underway, in accordance with the country’s commitment. The government has started training contraceptive technology trainers and now has a pool of 16 providers of certified national trainers.
• The government has also engaged in mass awareness-raising activities on family planning with religious leaders, the young and civil society organizations.

DSW has engaged in the following activities in support of its commitment to FP2020.

Europe

• Germany: DSW’s serves as secretariat for the German All Party Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (APPG), which was very strong during the legislative period from 2009 to 2013, when it consisted of 34 members. After the 2013 election, 14 members lost their mandate, including long-standing champions. In order to be able to continue the APPG’s work on sexual and reproductive health and rights and family planning, DSW worked to rebuild the APPG. Until June 2015, DSW was able to recruit new members from different parliamentary groups and committees since the election. Thus, the APPG currently consists of 29 members and is very productive. A number of meetings on SRHR issues took place since 2014. In addition, APPG members were the main initiators of a parliamentary motion in summer 2014 that included a strong focus on family planning.
• DSW maintains longstanding relationships with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on the working level and has been able to gain the interest of the BMZ leadership for sexual and reproductive health and rights and family planning. DSW advocated strongly and successfully for the integration of SRHR in BMZ’s new strategy on gender equality which is binding for all actors of the official German development cooperation.
• European Union: 2014 was a transition year for the EU leadership with European elections in May 2014 and the nomination of a new College of Commissioners who took office in November. Since then, DSW has reinforced the working relationship with previous champions and built contacts with new Members of the EP who have already shown their support to sexual and reproductive health and rights and family planning in several EP reports. DSW has moreover maintained and strengthened working relationships with members of the cabinet of the European Commissioners as well as around 10 permanent representations of Member States to the EU to strengthen support for SRHR in the EU Council. Through the collaborative efforts of partner organisations in Brussels, the European Parliament positions on post 2015 include strong calls for universal access to family planning and unprecedentedly progressive Council Conclusions on Gender in Development were adopted in May 2015.

Eastern Africa

• In Eastern Africa, DSW has continuously increased its work with members of parliament and government officials at national, district, county and community level. This has been essential for the results outlined in the following answers.

International

• In April 2015, DSW together with the APPG and EPF hosted the international G7/G20 parliamentarians conference “She Matters – Empowering women and girls to lead self-determined, healthy, and productive lives,” which brought together more than 90 MPs representing 50 parliaments from all world regions. In a very ambitious appeal, the parliamentarians called on the G7 and the G20 to step up their commitment to SRHR, gender equality, women’s and girls’ human rights and their empowerment to create the conditions for them to lead self-determined, healthy, and productive lives. The appeal was handed over to the German G7 Sherpa, Mr. Roeller at the end of the conference. Please visit www.she-matters.org for further information.

IPPF shared the following update on progress in achieving its FP2020 commitments:

At global, regional and national levels, IPPF persuades governments and decision makers to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights, to change policy and to fund programs and service delivery. In 2014, IPPF made significant progress to improve an enabling environment towards strengthening the recognition of SRHR at the regional level:

• Working in partnership with the African Union (AU) on the Maputo Plan of Action. IPPF’s Liaison Office in the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa plays a critical role in influencing policy processes at the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. The African Union has requested that the IPPF Africa Regional Office works with civil society organizations across Africa to conduct a review of the Maputo Plan of Action. The plan is Africa’s policy framework for universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning. The review will assess progress and make recommendations for the next phase. IPPF convened the General Assembly of the African Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development in the Ivory Coast. The assembly produced a positive statement on Africa’s position on sexual and reproductive health and rights for the new Sustainable Development Goals. This was taken forward to the 6th International Parliamentarians’ Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action in Sweden where African parliamentarians reaffirmed their commitment to gender equality, women’s empowerment, elimination of violence against women, and universal access to sexual and reproductive health services.

Engaging BRICS: More than 42 per cent of the world’s population live in the five BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which means that the policies and views of governments in these countries are critical for the health and well-being of billions of people. IPPF works in BRICS countries in partnership with civil society organizations, including Member Associations, to raise awareness among the leaders and policy makers of the importance of sexual and reproductive health and rights.

• In March 2014, South Africa hosted the BRICS Inaugural Seminar of Officials and Experts on Population Matters. IPPF’s Director-General and the Western Hemisphere Regional Director participated, alongside Member Associations and representatives from other civil society organizations mobilized by IPPF. A milestone agreement was reached with the BRICS countries adopting a framework for ongoing cooperation and learning on contraception, sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, gender equality and women’s rights.
• In February 2015, IPPF convened a civil society forum in Brasilia, ahead of the First BRICS Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Population Matters. IPPF worked with civil society organizations, including the Member Associations of China and India, to review the zero draft of the Agenda for BRICS Cooperation on Population Matters 2015–2020. Country official delegates were encouraged to support sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender equality in negotiations on the content of the final document. Following this work, the agenda agreed by ministers at the First BRICS Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Population Matters reflects many of IPPF’s key concerns such as sexual and reproductive health rights, and empowerment of women and girls.

IPPF continues to advocate for affordable pricing for contraceptives and raise awareness and change the attitudes of community, political and public opinion leaders to support SRHR for all. We introduce new contraceptive methodologies to meet the needs of under-served communities and address the known barriers to voluntary family planning service uptake of vulnerable populations. In 2014, IPPF successfully called for the expansion of high-quality and affordable contraceptives through:

• Collaboration with the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC): IPPF continued to play an integral role in the membership-based RHSC. Through its role as co-chair of the RHSC Advocacy and Accountability working group, IPPF has mobilized global, regional and national civil society to call on governments for increased political and financial support to family planning and reproductive health supplies. IPPF contributed to the RHSC Take Stock initiative by pledging to develop and roll out a Federation wide RH Commodity Security Strategy to help IPPF identify potential stockouts and mitigate against them, by building capacity in supplies management and strengthening supply chains across the Federation.

• Partnership for price reductions: IPPF continues to work with other international partners to ensure that the price reductions for implants achieved through the minimum volume guarantees actually reach women needing these products. IPPF is also advocating for UNFPA to list products by formulation, rather than brand name—this is likely to increase take-up of more affordable generics and create a more sustainable market. Partnership with UNFPA to boost family planning services in 13 countries through ensuring affordable family planning supplies.

• IPPF participates in technical groups such as the High Impact Practices in Family Planning (HIPPs) Group and the UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities, particularly the Implant Technical Reference Team.

• Piloting Sayana Press: Reproductive Health Uganda is working in partnership with PATH to pilot Sayana Press—a self-injection method—with clients receiving services at two urban family planning clinics in Gulu District, with a focus on provision to young people. The research will be instrumental in understanding the appeal of the concept of home and self-injection among younger women, and determine whether women can self-inject Sayana Press competently in an unsupervised setting.

• IPPF is also a member of the International Contraceptive Access (ICA) Foundation—a partnership that has enabled several Member Associations to obtain access to LNG-IUS (levonorgestrel releasing intrauterine system) a hormonal intra-uterine contraceptive device. In 2014, LNG-IUS were shipped to the following IPPF Member Associations: Curacao, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Mongolia, St. Lucia and Sri Lanka.

• IPPF also actively participates in the UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), and regularly attends HRP policy committee meetings.

IPPF is the global and regional convener and mobilizer of civil society organizations that advocate for public, political and financial commitments to voluntary family planning. Through our advocacy, we influence and support enabling environments to increase high quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health services and for governments to be accountable for the pledges that they made at the 2012 London Summit on Family Planning.  IPPF Member Associations regularly hold their governments to account by ensuring that citizens know their rights, by monitoring and tracking that people’s rights are being delivered, and by supporting constructive engagement among citizens, services and government officials to address barriers and challenges. In 2014:

• IPPF worked in partnership with Advance Family Planning to mobilize action at district, national and international levels with a focus on the implementation of commitments made by governments in 2012 at the London Summit on Family Planning. In 2014, IPPF’s Director-General spoke on a high-level panel about the importance of maintaining momentum on contraception and maternal and newborn health, alongside the United Kingdom’s International Development Secretary, Justine Greening, and Melinda Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As a partner in the USAID-funded Evidence Project, IPPF began research into how social accountability mechanisms can increase access to contraceptive services.

• Through successful advocacy, the Family Planning Association of Nepal celebrated the first-ever Family Planning Day on 18 September 2014. Nepal’s Health and Population Secretary, the Minister of Health and Population, and the National Planning Commission inaugurated the Day which has helped put family planning back on the priority list.

• Association de Bien-Etre Familial–Naissances Désirables of the Democratic Republic of Congo collaborated with local networks to convince the government to allocate its first-ever funding for purchase of contraceptives in 2013. Previously, contraceptive procurement depended solely on donor support.

• Tonga Family Health Association delivered technical input to revise the national youth strategy. Through extensive advocacy, the Member Association secured a specific objective on sexual and reproductive health for young people.

In 2014, the government of Uganda launched its US$200 million official Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan, 2015–2020 (FP-CIP) to reduce unmet need for contraception from 40 to 10 per cent, and increase the modern contraceptive prevalence rate to 50 per cent by 2020. RHU convened and led a youth group and an expert group to provide feedback during the FP-CIP’s development process. Of the 18 countries preparing FP-CIPs, this is the only example of these plans being developed following this approach. RHU’s activities were instrumental in ensuring that young people’s needs and a rights-based approach to family planning programmes were included in the plan. The Association also worked with the government to ensure that the FP-CIP is fully costed, and to raise resources with bilateral donors to fund its various components.

IPPF shared the following update on progress in achieving its FP2020 commitments:

IPPF is a global leader in family planning service delivery and advocacy, and has been at the vanguard of delivering comprehensive voluntary family planning services for over 60 years. IPPF is the global and regional convener and mobilizer of civil society organizations that advocate for public, political and financial commitments to voluntary family planning. In 2014, IPPF continued to unite a global movement to improve the health status of poor and young people, in particular women and girls, through an enabling family planning policy environment and access to a range of cost-effective, high-impact health services. Particularly, the Federation succeeded in securing:

• National legislative change for access to contraception: 81 successful policy initiatives and or positive legislative changes in support or defense of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) to which Member Associations’ advocacy contributed. This included 27 increased national budget allocations for contraception, access to contraception and SRHR of vulnerable people;

• Global and regional norm setting for rights-based family planning: 18 successful regional and global policy initiatives and/or positive legislative changes in support or defense of SRHR to which IPPF’s advocacy contribute. IPPF implemented its largest-ever international advocacy program to prioritize sexual and reproductive health and rights—including rights-based family planning--within the new Sustainable Development Goals;

• Reproductive rights are human rights: 54% of Member Associations monitor obligations made by government in the international human rights treaties that they have ratified. IPPF Member Associations continue to use the United Nations Periodic Review process to raise concerns and make recommendations about sexual rights in their countries – including access to contraception.

The IPPF Member Association, Rahnuma-Family Planning Association of Pakistan (Rahnuma-FPAP) stands as an example of country impact. Rahnuma-FPAP is part of Pakistan’s national FP2020 Champions Group. Rahnuma-FPAP has agreements with national and provincial ministries, including the Ministry of National Health Services, the Population Welfare Department in Punjab, and the National Institute of Population Studies, and implements maternal and newborn child health programs in the provinces of Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh. These programs support service delivery and family planning in line with the national government’s commitment to FP2020. Rahnuma-FPAP, working with other civil society organizations, advocated for more family planning services with the provincial governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh. Together, these three provinces account for more than 85 per cent of the total population of Pakistan.  As a result, the provincial governments have incorporated commitments on family planning into their draft population policies and other influential policy documents; increased budgetary lines for contraception in both 2013–14 and 2014–15; allocated resources to procure contraceptives; established and reconfigured health delivery points to strengthen service reach; and increased their targets for contraceptive prevalence rates.