Dear colleague,

Last week we held the first of three virtual Focal Point Workshops with partners from across Africa and Asia in preparation for the new partnership ahead, and I was struck by how far we have come since FP2020 was launched in 2012. The strengthened ties between government and civil society, with international NGOs and donors, has helped to propel our progress toward increasing access to family planning for women and girls everywhere. Even as the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic comes more into focus every day – reduced access to commodities and services, potential erosion of domestic and donor financing, constraints on the lives of women and girls – we’ve seen partners double-down on efforts to mitigate these negative impacts, learn from new ways of working, and push us all to do more.

 

I have been privileged to be a part of the evolution of our partnership as we ensured rights are at the heart of all we do, as more countries made their own family planning commitments, as FP2020 country focal points expanded to include civil society, as we created space for meaningful youth participation, and made emergency preparedness and response a key priority.

 

This year we have been preparing for a transition to a renewed partnership, one that you have helped shape. Stakeholders from across the globe provided their input on the future of family planning through our global consultation. The collective feedback formed the basis of a vision for the next decade of partnership: a partnership that is led by countries themselves, with shared learning and accountability, that will increase access to family planning for women and girls everywhere.

 

While we have made great strides in increasing access to family planning in the past eight years, we recognize that women and girls live in complex realities. To ensure the greatest success, our family planning commitments must be person-centered and rights-based, with equity and justice at their core. Dilly Severin, senior director for global initiatives at FP2020, explains in a piece below how we are re-thinking partnership to shift the balance of power in family planning so that commitments are developed with women and girls and their lived experiences at the center.

 

As I write to you, I recognize that we are in an incredible moment of history, both the global community and within the family planning movement. The U.S. election will lead to great changes in our working environment, regardless the outcome. And with our partnership’s transition over the next year, I see incredible opportunity for stronger partnerships with greater reach. We have begun our transition process that will facilitate these renewed partnerships the decade ahead. A Transition Management Team, led by Sono Aibe, a veteran strategist in reproductive health, will help us manage those changes as we continue to work with partners to create new commitments. You can learn more about the transition process here.

I am looking forward to continuing down this new path with you in the next coming months, as we continue to share the lessons we have learned from the FP2020 partnership, and how we will inhabit those lessons in the next iteration of the partnership. At a virtual celebration in late January, we will officially launch the final FP2020 Annual Report, we’ll celebrate FP2020 together, and we’ll kickoff our drive for new commitments for the 2030 partnership that we will build together. We know that the health and wellbeing of women and girls everywhere will be stronger for it.

 

 

Warmly,

 

 

Beth Schlachter
Executive Director

JOIN THE CAMPAIGN: #myFPstory

Starting on World Contraception Day, FP2020 launched a new, ongoing campaign to honor the success of eight years of the FP2020 partnership, and generate excitement for the future: #myFPstory. Will you join by sharing family planning story? How has access to family planning changed your life, and how are you working to strengthen that access for others? 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

RESOURCES FROM AROUND THE SECTOR

Setting Goals to Measure Progress, part three in the FP2020 & Track20 Measurement Learning Series, aims to discuss the approaches to setting goals, the advantages and disadvantages of those approaches, along with the tools to support goal setting.

 

Global Health, Science and Practice Journal: Opportunities and Challenges of Delivering Postabortion Care and Postpartum Family Planning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

 

The second issue of the quarterly Family Planning High Impact Practices (HIP) newsletter is available featuring recent and upcoming HIP webinars and information about the new Social and Behavior Change HIP brief writing teams.

 

Read the latest progress from the WHO FP Accelerator project in their September newsletter. 

 

The Inter-Agency Working Group and the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition have co-published an advocacy brief calling on governments, donors, development agencies, and humanitarian agencies to build resilient supply chains for sexual and reproductive health through collaboration at the points where the humanitarian and development sectors converge. 

 

Consultancy Opportunity: 2030 Family Planning Partnership Transition Oversight Group (TOG). The TOG composition is intended to balance the needs for nimble decision-making and inclusion of diverse perspectives and constituencies that can most effectively advance the FP2020 Partnership transition design and execution. Accordingly, the TOG will include approximately 12-13 members. This Call for Application is particularly for the six seats to be occupied by the Government representatives, CSO/NGO representatives and youth representatives. Learn more on our website. Deadline for applications is November 6, 2020.

 

A new blog from Universal Access Project on how companies are stepping up to address workplace women’s health and well-being across global supply chains during the pandemic: What COVID-19 Means for Women in Global Supply Chains — and How Companies Can Take Action.

UPCOMING WEBINARS