Family Planning 2030 announces new regional-hub nerve centre

Source: unSplash

The largest Africa-based international non-governmental organisation (INGO), Amref focuses on increasing sustainable health access and runs programmes in more than 35 countries in Africa, with lessons learnt over 60 years of engagement with governments, communities and partners.

FP2030’s East and Southern Africa Hub is one of four new offices to be launched this year as the partnership seeks to widen its reach to bring services closer to those who need them most. The new offices will join the existing North America and European hub and will co-ordinate and support country-specific activities through mobilising existing commitments and generating new commitments from the region.

The new hubs will also help build momentum for the rights-based family-planning movement at community-, national-, regional-, and global levels; advance advocacy and accountability for family-planning policy development and implementation; leverage partnerships with governments, civil society and youth-led organisations to create synergies that will maximise opportunities for growth and impact, and link these efforts to a strong regional and global network.

“Building on the strengths and successes of FP2020, we’re accelerating progress that ensures our efforts are country-led and remain globally connected,” said Dr. Samukeliso Dube, executive director, FP2030. “Amref is a well-established and well-respected organisation with a mission that aligns with the values of FP2030, and with them as our host partner we are very well placed to succeed.”

Amref Health Africa works to increase sustainable health access to communities in Africa through solutions in human resources for health, health-services delivery and investments in health. The host organisation was chosen through a rigorous and transparent selection process led by members of FP2030’s Transition Oversight Group. By locating the hub in Nairobi and within Amref, partners in the region will have better access to the FP2030 network, and deeper relationships across member countries.

“The hosting of this new regional hub is an exciting opportunity for Amref to contribute to the acceleration of FP2030's initiatives in the region. Through this hosting programme we will be able to promote access to quality family-planning services as an essential component of quality reproductive healthcare for our women and girls, by leveraging our convening power and experience in providing sub-grants to large-, medium-, and small organisations to achieve scale and impact,” said Dr. Githinji Gitahi, global CEO, Amref Health Africa. “We will also make use of innovative platforms to ensure the participation of grassroots and national advocates in the region by equipping them with the resources they need to accelerate the FP2030 agenda.”

The East and Southern Africa regional hub will support initiatives in Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

“It is our goal to foster a truly country-led commitment process not only by ensuring countries can set their own goals, but also to facilitate better and more consistent connections with other FP2030 partners in the region, creating stronger programmes and accountability mechanisms,” said Dr. Dube.

“We believe regional hubs put countries and regional partners in the driver’s seat for agenda setting, monitoring progress and collaboration, and we see this collaboration as an important step towards achieving FP2030’s vision of working together for a future where women and girls everywhere have the freedom and ability to lead healthy lives, make their own informed decisions about using contraception and having children, and to participate as equals in society and its development.”

FP2030, with Amref’s support, will be calling on governments, civil-society organisations and other implementers of sexual and reproductive health and rights to implement FP2030 commitments, and accelerate interventions and policies that offer quality of care for women and girls, ensuring access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, services and commodities.

Kenya has already launched its own national commitment, with the government pledging to increase the modern contraceptive prevalence rate for married women from 58% to 64% by 2030 and reduce unmet need for family planning for all women from 14% to 10% by 2030.