FP2020 is Broadening its Constituency and Reaching New Audiences
Young people comprise more than 40 percent world’s population, and FP2020 is developing robust strategies to reach this crucial constituency. In the past year FP2020 has met with a wide variety of youth-led and youth-serving organizations and groups, including the Alliance for International Youth Development; the Alliance for Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Health; the CPD Youth Advocates' Consultation; Curious Minds; DFID; FHI360; the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS; GreeneWorks; the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF); the International Youth Alliance for Family Planning; Marie Stopes International (MSI); Pathfinder; Plan UK/UK SRHR Network; Restless Development; UNFPA; USAID; the Universal Access Project; the Youth Health and Rights Coalition; the YP Foundation; WHO; Women Deliver; and international youth activists at the UN Commission on Population and Development in April. FP2020 also conducted in-country youth consultations in Uganda, India, and Zimbabwe, and embarked on an in-depth analysis of youth-related activities in country CIPs.
To increase engagement with the private sector, FP2020 partnered with Every Woman Every Child (EWEC) and the Access to Medicines Foundation to co-host a webinar in June 2015 titled Improving Maternal Health and Access to Contraceptives: the Role of the Private Sector. The webinar convened a discussion around the release of a new Access to Medicines Foundation report, which analyzes the contributions of pharmaceutical companies to Millennium Development Goal 5 (MDG 5) and raises awareness about the impact that investments in modern contraception can have as the world transitions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Speakers from EWEC, FP2020, the Access to Medicine Foundation, and several senior representatives from private sector companies (Famy Care, Pfizer, and Merck via Merck for Mothers) participated in the webinar.
Faith-based organizations (FBOs) have a significant role to play in the global movement to expand family planning. In sub-Saharan Africa FBOs provide as much as 40 percent of healthcare services, and many of them consider family planning central to their mission to support women, children, and families. FBOs can also be key messengers in reaching out to religiously and culturally conservative communities. FP2020 engages with faith-based partners through the Rapid Response Mechanism and through aligning efforts with PAI’s Faith + Family Planning Fund, which supports projects that advance FP2020 goals. FP2020 has also hosted conversations with World Vision, the ACT Alliance, the Faith to Action Network, and Muslim Family Counselling Services of Ghana to explore further strategies for connecting with faith-based communities.
