On May 31, 2016, the Secretary of Health in the municipality of Rionegro, Colombia formally adopted technical recommendations to implement youth-friendly services in the Development and Health Plan (2016-2020). The inclusion of adolescents in Rionegro’s plan is crucial—programs will not be implemented if they are not laid out in the municipal development plan.
The technical recommendations are a result of collaboration between a multi-sectoral technical commision, the Secretary of Health, and local Ampliando El Acceso advocacy partner PROFAMILIA COLOMBIA.
Ampliando El Acceso, or “Expanding Access” is a one-year, independently funded project launched by Advance Family Planning (AFP) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR). The project seeks to expand access to contraceptive information and services for youth in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico by strengthening local advocacy efforts.
PROFAMILIA COLOMBIA first mapped the political landscape to identify decision-makers and analyze policy while at the Ampliando El Aceso orientation workshop hosted by IPPF/WHR and AFP in February 2016. The mapping led to identifying the Mayor of Rionegro as the key decision-maker and the Secretary of Health as the most influential champion for drafting a strategic plan. PROFAMILIA cold-called the Secretary of Health, Diana Mejia, via WhatsApp to arrange a meeting.
After meeting, the Secretary of Health recognized the importance of involving each stakeholder to achieve the objective. She invited representatives from the local hospital, education, health and family constituencies to form a collaborative technical commission. The technical commission worked to adapt the national youth-friendly services model to Rionegro’s context between March and April.
The Secretary of Health set up an advocacy meeting with the Mayor, a challenging decision-maker. PROFAMILIA aimed to address the Mayor’s concerns, and forged ahead with the full support of the Secretary of Health.
- The technical committee developed recommendations and ideas, which were submitted to the Mayor to include in the strategic plan on May 31. Recommendations addressed inclusion of:
- Indicators from Sustainable Development Goal 5, which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower women and girls.
- Inter-sectorial actions and strategies aimed at reducing and preventing teen pregnancy
- Indicators that reflect guidelines for implementation of the Convention of Belém do Pará, which seeks to end violence against women.
- Differentiated intersectional actions and strategies to prevent teen pregnancy
- Goals that are not only related to the numerical reduction of teen pregnancy, but also those that reflect education and changes in social norms.
- Goals that call for a greater number of educational activities and youth-friendly service providers in hospitals and clinics throughout the municipality.
The Secretary of Health stipulated that the youth-friendly services must be implemented through an multi-sectoral committee that includes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Family.
Next, PROFAMILIA will monitor the development plan to ensure that the health sector implements the recommendations. PROFAMILIA will then monitor the municipal budget to ensure that the program has adequate resources for implementation.