View the latest family planning advocacy news from our partners.
The Government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Health, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Uganda Health Marketing Group (UHMG) on January 30, 2015 to implement an alternative distribution strategy. The strategy is designed to improve the handling, storage, and distribution of family planning commodities to the private sector over the next five years.
The rural commune of Kelbo in Burkina Faso included family planning funding and activities in its five-year Communal Development Plan (2015-2019) for the first time, as a result of Family Care International (FCI) Burkina Faso’s advocacy efforts supported by the Opportunity Fund.
June 2, 2015
By Dilly Severin, Communications Director, PAI
Edith Mawia Malombe has always had a soft spot for underdogs.
“When I was a child, I would get into trouble for giving away my shoes and stealing food from my mother’s cupboard for those in need,” she laughs. “I did not have the words to articulate it at the time, but I am really passionate about justice, fairness, and a sense of equality in society. That is what motivates me.”
In a new progress report, Advance Family Planning showcases the impact that advocacy can have on family planning. AFP has achieved more than 100 advocacy wins with our partners and others committed to family planning. Together, we have made it easier for women, men, and young people to access and use family planning information, services, and supplies.
Achievements at a Glance:
Following village-level budget advocacy efforts led by district working groups, 364 additional villages in Indonesia took the initial step to allocate local funding for family planning. In Karanganyar district (162 villages), the Mayor signed an endorsement letter for Village Heads on January 27, 2015, to allocate for family planning, particularly long-acting permanent methods (LAPM).
H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda appointed two strong champions for family planning and reproductive health. Advance Family Planning partners in Uganda, Partners in Population and Development Africa Regional Office and Reproductive Health Uganda, look forward to collaborating with the family planning champions to achieve progress. Read the new appointees' bios below:
April 22, 2015
Advance Family Planning (AFP) joins Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) and the entire family planning and reproductive health community in mourning the loss of Valerie DeFillipo on April 16. Valerie was FP2020’s founding director and a committed leader in advancing women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights around the world for many decades.
By Joan Komsoon, African Women's Development Fund
March 30, 2015
The Director of the Central Medical Stores in Zanzibar, Tanzania directed a total of 66 staff at the Ministry of Health across all 10 districts to be re-trained in November 2014 as a result of African Women Leaders Network for Reproductive Health and Family Planning (AWLN) members' advocacy. The re-training led to a 70% drop in family planning commodity forecasting errors at the facility level.
The Advance Family Planning (AFP) initiative submitted an organizational statement to the United Nations last week to prioritize family planning in the updated Global Strategy on Women’s, Children’s and Adolescent’s Health. AFP’s statement urges an emphasis on the benefits of investing in family planning and provides recommendations to operationalize stronger family planning programs as a part of the update.
Advance Family Planning’s (AFP’s) eight new case studies illustrate the advocacy efforts leading to “quick wins” (discrete policy or funding advancements) achieved in the last year.
March 26, 2015
Advance Family Planning will co-chair the first ever Advocacy and Accountability (A&A) subcommittee of the 2015 International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP). The subcommittee will highlight the role of advocacy and accountability at the global, regional, national and subnational levels in ensuring access to voluntary, quality family planning information, services and supplies.