Family Planning 2020 convenes new reference group cohort in New Delhi

FP2020 leadership stresses that now is the moment to position voluntary family planning squarely in the sustainable development framework for the years to come

Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) would convene its Reference Group for a two-day meeting in New Delhi, India. This is the first time the Reference Group will meet in an FP2020 commitment country.

Comprising leaders from governments, civil society, private sector and donor organisations, the 18-member Reference Group is tasked with steering FP2020 towards its goal of improving the lives of women and girls around the world, by promoting their fundamental right to decide, freely and for themselves, whether, when and how many children to have. All FP2020 activities are underpinned by a rights-based approach to ensure that family planning programmes keep human rights and the dignity and empowerment of women and girls at their core.

This week’s meeting marks an important convening of global thought leaders, just months before the United Nations adopts a new set of Sustainable Development Goals to replace the expiring Millennium Development Goals.

Reference Group Co-Chair Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, said, “Family planning saves and transforms lives. Sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights are a cornerstone of sustainable development. Together, FP2020 partners will continue to strive for universal access to a full range of voluntary and quality family planning services, and to mobilise the necessary political will to make this a reality.”

Reportedly, FP2020 will also host meetings with civil society organisations and advocates for youth, to hear from a diverse array of voices at the local and regional levels, and to ensure that young and other vulnerable populations are well considered in FP2020’s priorities.

“The discussions taking place this week in New Delhi have far-reaching implications that will help set the course of family planning for the next 15 years,” said Reference Group Co-Chair Dr Chris Elias, President of Global Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“The strategic course we lay out for FP2020 must provide a sound platform for global, regional and country-level collaboration and coordination if we are to achieve our goals,” Elias said.

India, represented on the Reference Group by the country’s Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Health CK Mishra, is one of FP2020’s commitment-making countries. Four new members were recently added to the group, representing Tanzania, Niger, Marie Stopes International and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation.

EH News Bureau