As part of a project aimed at strengthening the role of Ivorian civil society in promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in the country, six civil society organizations (CSOs) are working together, with the support of Equipop, to influence national and local policies in favor of family planning (FP). The first activities are well underway, with the help of key allies.
An alliance with the Committee of Municipal Youth Organizations of the District of Abidjan
ONEF, RIJES, and LEADAFRICAINE are currently advocating for the inclusion of SRHR/FP for adolescents and young people in the plans and budgets of three municipalities in the Abidjan district. In this context, these CSOs have sought the support of the Abidjan District Youth Committee (COJEDA). This alliance gives more weight to the advocacy campaign and enables young people to make their voices heard by the district mayors through the municipal youth committees. The collaboration was consolidated during a consultation workshop in May in Abidjan. COJEDA members were made aware of SRHR/FP issues so that they could relay advocacy messages. They also participated in the drafting of a manifesto on SRHR/FP for adolescents and young people, which will be signed by young people in the municipalities. A fruitful collaboration is on the horizon, promising strong advocacy!
A consensus within Ivorian civil society on the delegation of tasks
The implementation of task shifting (TS)—an approach that allows additional categories of providers, such as community health workers, to offer certain FP methods—is a major challenge if Côte d'Ivoire is to achieve its goal of a 36% contraceptive prevalence rate (modern methods) by 2020. Three CSOs (MESSI, AFJCI, and ASAPSU) have joined forces to take this advocacy to the highest level. Given the scale of the barriers to be overcome, these CSOs have made dialogue and collaboration with the whole of Ivorian civil society a priority. To this end, a consultation workshop involving key civil society actors was held last June. The main objective of this workshop was to lay the foundations for consensus and a common language on DT among CSOs from various backgrounds: professional associations (gynecologists/obstetricians, nurses, midwives), health CSOs and NGOs (AIBEF, EngenderHealth, Médecins du Monde), advocacy networks (Network of Champions in Advocacy for Adequate Health Financing in Côte d'Ivoire), young leaders, etc. The foundations for an alliance for concerted advocacy in favor of DT have thus been laid.
What happens next?
Advocacy is a collective effort in which all stakeholders have a role to play. The support of community youth groups and CSOs representing a diverse range of issues can only be an asset in securing the desired commitments from decision-makers.
