On December 13, the new Secretary of State for International Development and Francophonie, Jean-Marie Le Guen, hosted a reception for development, humanitarian action, and human rights organizations. During this reception, Equilibres & Populations was able to directly address its recommendations to the new head of development policy.
In his introductory speech, Jean-Marie Le Guen, who took office on December 6, emphasized that France had equipped itselfwith"powerful development policies and tools" during the five-year term. This remark applies particularly to the issues covered by Equilibres & Populations, since his predecessor launched in October the strategy entitled: France's External Action on Population Issues and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights 2016-2020.
During this exchange with the Secretary of State, Equilibres & Populations was keen to point out that sexual and reproductive health and rights are one of the major drivers of development. France must therefore not be content with simply publishing strategies: it must now translate them into action. This is precisely what the Interministerial Committee for International Cooperation and Development on November 30 concluded: France "will ambitiously implement this strategy." On December 13, our message was heard. In his closing remarks, Jean-Marie Le Guen emphasized that health remained a priority and that "SRHR is an area in which France must go back on the offensive." The government has only a few months to act. It must get to work now to launch long-term processes.
