ONLINE, 2nd February - In the context of the ‘Not Without FP Forum’, EPF teamed up with IPPF European Network and DSW to organise a roundtable discussion on European donor support to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and family planning (FP) in the coming decade.
The period 2019-2020 was one of contrasts: on the one hand, 2019 broke new ground for overall European support to SRHR - in terms of funding and in terms of new commitments and momentum, with the Nairobi ICPD+25 Summit in 2019, and the renewal of the FP2020 partnership this year. On the flip side, the Coronavirus that spread across the world in 2020 will most likely have a drastic impact on European Official Development Assistance (ODA), including for SRHR.
Moderated by Head of the DSW EU office, Cecile Vernant, the event began with a closer look at recent donor funding trends and contributions to SRHR and FP as highlighted in the Donors Delivering for SRHR report and in the Countdown 2030 Europe data.
The panel included:
- Titta Maja, Deputy Director General for the Development Policy Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs from Finland, who gave a European donor perspective;
- Hon. Abdul Rashid Pelpuo, Member of Parliament from Ghana, who shed light on how national policymakers in Ghana have tried to contribute to the further advancement of the ICPD agenda after Nairobi in the past year, and how European donors can streamline the relevance of its SRHR funding to fit the needs of the most vulnerable;
- Joshua Ongwae, International Programme Coordinator & Regional Team Lead at DSW from Kenya, who gave a civil society perspective on budget accountability and the opportunities and challenges around SRHR and FP funding at national and subnational level in Kenya.