The Global Parliamentary Alliance (GPA) will attend the International Conference on Family Planning that will take place in Pattaya City (Thailand) from the 14th to the 17th of November 2022.
Since the first ICFP in Kampala, Uganda in 2009, the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) has served as a strategic inflection point for the global reproductive health community, providing a global stage for countries, organisations, and individuals to make important commitments and celebrate achievements as the world’s largest scientific conference on family planning and reproductive health. The ICFP 2022 theme underscores the key role that family planning plays in achieving universal health coverage. Each day of the conference will feature an opening plenary session followed by scientific panels and community sessions all around 16 conference tracks such as gender equality, empowerment and reproductive rights.
Despite the high return on investment, family planning is often overlooked in national expenditure planning and allocations particularly for reproductive health supplies are not always spent. Parliamentarians are increasingly playing key roles in these efforts as partners both in state-budgeting and holding governments accountable for their commitments. The ICFP with over 5000 participants from across sectors, is a key opportunity for parliamentarians to share and showcase their successes and lessons learned, and to continue to build their understanding of the issues from experts.
EPF and GPA together with partners have organised the following invited sessions during the conference:
Session 1: Role of Parliamentarians, intergovernmental organisations and the private sector in advancing Family Planning programmes - Tuesday 15th November, 10:15h - 11:35h (Asia/Bangkok time), Peach Pattaya 3.
How can Parliamentarians, intergovernmental organisations and the private sector play a vital role in legislating for, promoting, and implementing Family Planning programmes in both low- and middle-income countries and in donor countries' development policies? Panelists will present an exchange of good practices and strategies on how to improve access to contraception for women and adolescent girls. Also, they will show the benefits of Family Planning programmes that can lead to a demographic dividend, and the knock-on effects that they can have in fostering economic growth. The panel will serve as an inspiration for advocacy work within multi-stakeholder engagements.
Speakers for this session include:
- Neil Datta, Executive Director, European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights - Moderator
- Baroness Liz Sugg, Member of Parliament (UK)
- Hon. Goedele Liekens, Member of Parliament (Belgium)
- Dr. Gifty Addico, Chief, Commodity Security Branch, Technical Division, United Nations Population Fund
- Hon. Esther Passaris, Member of Parliament (Kenya)
- Michael Pergine, Head of Global Policy, Government Relations and ESG at Organon
Session 2: Generating Political Leadership on Family Planning: Cross-regional Perspectives on the Challenges for Funding - Wednesday 16th November, 10:15h - 11:35h (Asia/Bangkok time), Peach Pattaya 11.
The panel will feature five distinguished speakers from the parliamentary community which represent the different stakeholders in the donor-recipient relationship of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) funding. More specifically, these country representatives will discuss how their differing levels of national income play a role in their capacity to implement SRHR programmes and policies. After these presentations, a Q&A with the audience will follow, and then the official launch of the EPF's 'SRHR Funding Atlas'. The SRHR Funding Atlas is an advocacy tool that will bring awareness to donor countries of their level of funding to recipient countries in areas related to Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), including Family Planning (FP). This Atlas will also reinforce the importance that donor country assistance plays in realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The end of the panel will be marked by Contraceptive-Themed Chocolate Tasting (offered on a limited basis).
Speakers for this session include:
- Moderator (TBC)
- Hon. Dr. Chaudhry Mazhar Iqbal, Member of Parliament (Pakistan)
- Hon. Oleksiy Zhmerenetskyi, Member of Parliament (Ukraine)
- Baroness Lindsay Northover, Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)
- Hon. Dr. Ruth Labode, Member of the Parliament (Zimbabwe)
- Hon. Catalin Tenita, Member of Parliament (Romania)