Last week, Equilibres & Populations was invited to participate in the 5th annual meeting of the Ouagadougou Partnership (OP). This year's theme was: "Promoting contraception means ensuring a better future for young people." As a technical partner, Equipop was able to exchange and share its expertise and promote its actions in favor of family planning (FP) for young people, such as the "Generation FP: Together, let's choose the future!"campaign.
Sharing expertise and experiences on FP and young people
Young people and their FP needs were therefore at the heart of this conference. From the very first day, a consultation session for young people was dedicated to them. Equipop, which works on these issues, was responsible for leading two of the four think tanks: – Integrating good practices into the revised and new budgeted action plans of OP countries, – Better taking into account the needs of young people in vulnerable situations in the revised and new budgeted action plans of the OP countries. The objective: to develop with young people an agenda and an action plan consisting of four actions per theme on what each OP member must do to ensure that all the commitments made by governments are implemented.
Next comes the time for all PO members to take stock. The subregional target set in the 2016-2020 plan is to reach 2.2 million new users of modern contraceptive methods. In 2016, there were 314,000 new users. Significant progress has also been made in terms of services for young people, including networks, platforms, reference groups, and collaboration with ministries.
[vc_gallery interval= »3″ images= »25821,25822,25823″]At the table with stakeholders in Burkina Faso, Equipop takes stock of the task delegation process in which it has been heavily involved since 2015. Thanks to the involvement of civil society organizations, a genuine dialogue has been established with the DSF, enabling the task delegation process to begin in the country. For 2017, there are many priorities and challenges, such as implementation, data collection, and supporting states in mobilizing additional funds for family planning.
During these three days of discussions, young people had a real opportunity to make their voices heard in favor of family planning and their needs in this area, such as information and the availability of contraceptive products. All participants agreed on the importance of working with young people to achieve fair and sustainable development, and of enabling them to engage with the authorities to develop youth-focused programs and policies.
Generation PF convinces and brings together civil society, decision-makers, and young people
As a platform for promoting family planning initiatives in French-speaking West Africa, Equipop took advantage of the PO poster session to present the campaign it is coordinating with the Alliance Droits et Santé network: "Generation FP: Together, let's choose the future!" This campaign gives a voice to those who are committed to family planning and calls on decision-makers to take concrete and active steps to promote family planning among young people. More than 40 people were convinced by the message of the FP champions and also joined the campaign. They include youth ambassadors, members of parliament, and representatives of ministries and civil society in West Africa.
Family planning for young people is a major issue on which all PO stakeholders agree and are investing. Commitments have been made in this regard, and Equipop will work with Alliance Droits et Santé and all those who have joined "Génération PF" to ensure that they are respected and implemented.
