View the latest family planning advocacy news from our partners.
In June 2015 Advance Family Planning (AFP) partner Yayasan Cipta Cara Padu (YCCP) expanded their program area to two more districts: Bengkayang (West Kalimantan province) and Kuningan (West Java province). YCCP conducted district assessments and coordinated advocacy meetings between the District Heads and the District Head of the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) to introduce the AFP initiative.
The expansion effort is led by Provincial BKKBN West Kalimantan in Bengkayang and Provincial BKKBN West Java in Kuningan.
In July, Family Planning 2020 awarded Advance Family Planning partner Yayasan Cipta Cara Padu Foundation a Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) grant to support the KB Kencana national family planning revitalization program in Indonesia. The grant will fund advocacy efforts in 8 districts in 4 provinces with some of the greatest family planning needs in the country: East Java, South Sulawesi, Maluku, and Papua.
The Government of Togo passed a Community-Based Intervention National Policy (PNIBC) on February 13, 2015 to integrate new maternal and child health high-impact approaches including the distribution of injectables at the community level.
On June 12, 2015 the Ministry of Health and Social Action authorized the first prescription of the pill by community health workers (relais communautaires) serving in 10 out of the 14 regions in Senegal. The community health intervention areas in the regions are operated by Action and Development (AcDev) and Association Sénegalaise pour le Bien Etre Familial (ASBEF). AcDev’s advocacy, with the support of the Opportunity Fund, led to the authorization.
By: Joan Komsoon, African Women's Development Fund and Richard Mugenyi, Reproductive Health Uganda
by Angela Mutunga, Advance Family Planning East Africa Regional Advisor. Originally posted on Impatient Optimists. Adapted from a presentation at the “Accelerating Access to Postpartum Family Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia” held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, June 8-11, 2015.
A new article in Global Health: Science and Practice describes the recent, high-level commitment to family planning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). National leaders in the country, where nearly 28% of women have an unmet need for modern contraception, shifted their focus on family planning from “near virtual neglect to explicit, strong support” within a period of two years.
“For long-time observers of the policy environment for family planning, the recent changes in the DRC are unprecedented and groundbreaking,” the article’s authors state.
Following advocacy from AFP partner Population Foundation of India (PFI), Mr. Rigzin Samphel, Additional Executive Director, State Innovations in Family Planning Services Agency (SIFPSA), signed a letter on June 5, 2015, to establish district working groups for family planning in three districts of Uttar Pradesh: Agra, Jhansi, and Lucknow. The DWGs will advocate for family planning and provide technical support to districts in identifying gaps and solutions to improve local family planning indicators.
Advance Family Planning’s (AFP’s) Mid-term Evaluation: Understanding, Expanding and Sustaining Advocacy Success is now available. Overall, the evaluation reflects how AFP has “facilitated impressive achievements and developed a popular and effective advocacy model.” It suggests ways in which AFP and others can expand advocacy efforts; achieve policy gains; and improve access to voluntary, quality contraceptive information, services, and supplies.
The Commune of Bobo Dioulasso adopted its first budget allocation for family planning services on March 10, 2015. The allocation of 1,000,000 FCFA (USD 2,000) will be included in Bobo Dioulasso’s Communal Development Plan 2014-2015.
The governments of Homa Bay County and Busia County in Kenya recently launched costed strategic plans for family planning, a momentous move in addressing local populations’ sexual and reproductive health needs.
The plans provide a framework for prioritizing and budgeting for family planning as well as guidance for organizing, mobilizing resources, and implementing and monitoring family planning programs at the county level.
Surya Chandra Surapaty, MPH, PhD, has been appointed the new Chairman of the National Family Planning Coordinating Board in Indonesia. Previously, he was a Member of Parliament from the ruling party PDI-P (Indonesian Democratic Party). He also served as the Chair of Commission VII (Health) in Parliament.