KIGALI, 12-15 November - A delegation of 27 European and African MPs represented EPF and FPA respectively at this year's International Conference on Family Planning. The ICFP united the family planning and reproductive health community worldwide, providing an opportunity for political leaders, scientists, researchers, policymakers, advocates, and youth to disseminate knowledge, celebrate successes, and identify the next steps toward reaching the goal of enabling an additional 120 million women to access voluntary, quality contraception by 2020.
The ICFP also served as an international platform from which countries, organizations and individuals could make public commitments to family planning and be recognized for their achievements. EPF and FPA co-hosted two forum meetings which included speakers from UNFPA, WHO, Gates Foundation, Women Deliver, FP2020 and IPPF. Here, MPs benefited from an open discussion with these key SRHR donors and advocacy groups to learn how to better collaborate for the common goal of ensuring family planning accessibility for all.
During the forum meetings, the MPs collectively produced a statement on their commitments regarding family planning access in their respective countries, which EPF and FPA Vice-Presidents Hon. Petra Bayr, MP (Austria), and Hon. Paul Chibingu, MP (Malawi) presented at the official closing ceremony of the conference alongside Rwandan Senator Jeanne D’Arc Gakuba as an official promise on behalf of their regions to prioritise family planning.
The conference sessions were complemented by various site visits: to the Rwamagana District Hospital where MPs learnt more about the healthcare system in Rwanda, to the Nyamirambo Women's Center to learn about success stories in terms of women's empowerment and social development initiatives.
