Jharkhand state in India has founded its first state- and district-level advocacy working groups for family planning. The three groups have been formally established and endorsed by the state government.
The working groups have progressed since April as a result of advocacy led by Advance Family Planning (AFP) local partner Jhpiego India. Jharkhand is a new geography for AFP, where one in four women in the state have an unmet need for family planning. [1]
In August, the family planning working groups identified SMART advocacy objectives to achieve in the next six months. They will focus on ensuring that counseling services are available at all sub-district health institutions, strengthening the family planning commodities supply chain – particularly from the sub-district level to the villages, and increasing the state’s capacity to train family planning service providers.
The Jharkhand State Working Group for Family Planning comprises of representatives from the State Family Planning Cell, the district program management unit of the health department, development partners in the state, and civil society organizations that work on health and women’s rights. The two district working groups in Ranchi and Bokaro of Jharkhand are comprised of similar stakeholders, as well local government (Panchayat Raj) representatives.
Although still relatively new, the groups’ efforts have seen buy-in from local leaders. During the August SMART facilitation, Gunjan Khalkho, the State Family Planning Cell Coordinator, stated that the advocacy issues identified were critical for the success of the family planning program in Jharkhand. Dr Beronin Tirkey, the Additional Director for Family Planning Services and the Head of the State Family Planning Cell added that she was pleased to be a part of the process and stated that, “together we could do a lot for family planning.”
Jhpiego India will continue to work with these groups as they move forward on their action plans.