From FP2020's Executive Director
The strength of FP2020 is its power to convene: to bring together a broad array of stakeholders in pursuit of a common goal.
Our partners include the world’s leading agencies in family planning, civil society organizations on the frontlines of reproductive health, government donors and private philanthropists, and dozens of countries that are committed to delivering rights-based family planning programs to women and girls. At the historic 2012 London Summit on Family Planning, these partners joined together to create a new collaborative platform: one where they could pool their talents, align their agendas, and build on the groundbreaking accomplishments of the past 50 years.
That collaborative platform is FP2020.
The FP2020 partnership today is vibrant, flourishing, and growing. The past year has seen the greatest surge in new FP2020 commitments since 2012, with ambitious new country pledges, generous donor contributions, and expansive partner programs. More new commitments are on the horizon, drawn by the strength of this partnership and this platform.
As our movement matures, the way we work together is evolving. Seeds that were planted years ago are now bearing fruit. Cross-institutional collaboration is thriving. Our country engagement process is becoming more detailed and robust. Measurement systems are yielding a revolution in data, and market-shaping interventions are improving the availability and affordability of a wider range of contraceptives. Rights and empowerment principles are being written into government plans and enacted in programs.
Photo by: Prashant Panjiar/Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
We’re also recognizing the critical need to accelerate progress for our 2020 milestone, and to strengthen our platform accordingly. A key emphasis is on making sure we provide efficient, tailored support to help countries optimize their work on the ground. As this report launched, we were deeply engaged in an extensive strategic review of our own structure and priorities, with an eye to developing a more intentional approach to country engagement. FP2020 is, in the best sense, a work in progress.
These efforts will pay dividends for years to come. The work we are doing through the FP2020 platform—as partners, in countries, and on the global stage—will help form the bedrock for the Sustainable Development Goals.
Rights-based family planning programs are essential to that agenda, just as they are essential to the empowerment of women and girls.
Today, three years after the 2012 London Summit, our partnership is stronger than ever. The challenges ahead are immense, and we must meet them with resourcefulness, determination, and a collective sense of responsibility. But together we are accomplishing far more than any of us could accomplish individually, and more than some of us thought possible. Together we have an extraordinary opportunity to realize the vision that unites us: a world where every woman and girl has the chance to grow, to thrive, and to plan the family she wants.
Beth Schlachter
Executive Director, Family Planning 2020
