Dear colleagues,
I’m pleased to be writing to you after a very successful launch of our Latin America & Caribbean Regional Hub in Panama City. We made the announcement alongside the regional hub host organization, Save the Children – Latin America and the Caribbean, with Profamilia Colombia. We’re delighted to begin the work of the hub and thankful to many of you who have helped FP2030 begin work in the region. FP2030 may be new to Latin America, but we are not new to the global fight for rights-based family planning, and we’re looking forward to working with many of you who already have deep ties to the region and have led meaningful work there.
The new FP2030 hub was welcomed by the first lady of Panama, Hon. Yasmín Colón de Cortizo, along with the Minister of Women and Vice Minister of Social Development. All three leaders have long been advocates for gender equality and youth development, and I welcomed the chance to learn more about the country’s priorities for women, girls, and human rights. Family planning sits at the crux of almost every other development issue: People cannot stay in school, care for their families, or live out their dreams if they cannot plan and space their pregnancies. And for those of us working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we cannot create a more equal world, reach zero poverty, or achieve gender equality if women and girls are not able to make their own decisions about their fertility and their futures.
This has indeed been a very busy season at FP2030, and we’ve been able to fill several important positions to continue this work: Monica Kerrigan will continue in her position and become the permanent Managing Director of the North America & Europe hub. I am so grateful for her experience and support since she stepped into the role six months ago.
I am also pleased to announce that Jonathan Rucks has joined FP2030 as Chief of Staff. Many of you know Jonathan from his work at PAI and Pathfinder. I am so glad to have his deep connections to the family planning community as we build the momentum of our partnership.
We continue to build up the staff at all the FP2030 regional hubs, and we ask all of you to share these openings widely with your networks. Check out the “Building FP2030” section of this newsletter for more information.
Lastly, I hope you’ll join MSI Reproductive Choices and me on an upcoming webinar, How can we transform access to reproductive choice through the public health system? Register and learn more below.
Thank you for your continued partnership. Onward!
Dr. Samukeliso Dube
Announcing the Completion of the FP2030 Global Support Network
With the launch of the FP2030 Latin America & Caribbean Regional Hub based in Panama City, the global FP2030 Support Network is now complete. FP2030 now consists of five regional hubs working together to advance rights-based family planning, using a localized approach to achieve global results.
Watch Now: FP2030 Latin America and Caribbean Hub Launch
Young People Trained in Knowledge Management and the Media
The FP2030 East & Southern African Regional Hub recently trained youth focal points in the basics of knowledge management and how to use data. Learn more about how this is critical for the achievement of global health outcomes and how data literacy saves lives.
Zambia Launches FP2030 Commitment
By 2030, Zambia will have a family planning program within an integrated reproductive, maternal, adolescent, newborn, and child health program that optimizes its capacity to address both demand and supply barriers of access and use of modern contraception. Learn more about Zambia’s FP2030 commitment.
Related: ESA Hub Deepens Cooperation with Zambian Family Planning Technical Working Group
Building 2030
In 2022, FP2030 launched its Advocacy and Accountability Framework, which outlines the role of advocacy and accountability in the FP2030 partnership. The framework includes broad advocacy priorities and a global accountability framework for tracking the progress of FP2030 commitments. To support the operationalization of the AAF, FP2030 is seeking to partner with three civil society organizations in Ethiopia, the Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Zambia to pilot the country commitment tracking approach. Learn more here.
Several other positions are open, including a consultant for East and Southern Africa Gender Assessment and Mapping and a Compliance Manager. All open positions can be found on the FP2030 Careers page.
We’re also thrilled to share two new hires at the FP2030 North America & Europe hub: Jonathan Rucks has been hired as the new Chief of Staff, and Monica Kerrigan’s interim position as Managing Director will become permanent.
News Release: FP2030, Save the Children and Profamilia team up to launch the Latin America & Caribbean Regional Hub
The FP2030 Latin America & Caribbean Regional Hub plans to mobilize greater investments in family planning through strategic partnerships with governments, civil society, multilateral organizations, donors, the private sector, and researchers. Read the press release in English, French, and Spanish.
Podcast: Intersectionality in Family Planning
Season 5 of Knowledge SUCCESS’ podcast, Inside the FP Story, explores the details of family planning programming, focusing on intersectionality in family planning. In Episode 1, interviewees include guests who are applying an intersectional lens to their work in sexual and reproductive health. In Episode 2, voices of community members who are either seeking family planning services or providing services are highlighted to shed light on the importance of using an intersectional lens to plan our programs.
The 2023 UNFPA State of World Population Report, 8 Billion Lives, Infinite Possibilities: The Case for Rights and Choices, calls for a radical rethink on how population numbers are framed, recognizing the need for a novel approach that puts people at its center.
Facilitate the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Family Planning Programming: A Strategic Planning Guide. This new HIPs document is intended to guide program managers, planners, and decision-makers through a strategic process to facilitate the inclusion of persons with disabilities in family planning programming.
Countdown 2030 Europe recently published Tracking what counts: A Trends Analysis of European Donor Support to Sexual & Reproductive Health and Rights & Family Planning 2021-2022. The report examines 2021 funding data and 2022 political stances adopted by 13 European governments and the EU institutions with regard to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Breakthrough ACTION’s Social and Behavior Change Checklist to Develop and Assess Costed Implementation Plans for Demand Creation can help governments, donors, and implementation teams ensure that they integrate best practices in social and behavior change with consideration of certain elements, such as gender and youth.
Can first-time parent approaches be both impactful and scalable? Findings in Bangladesh and Tanzania show promise. This blog post published by Healthy Newborn Network describes the Connect project — a partnership between Save the Children, George Washington University Milken School of Public Health, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Upcoming Webinars
How can we transform access to reproductive choice through the public health system?
MSI Reproductive Choices and FP2030
May 3 at 10 AM ET/2 PM GMT
Registration
Do’s and Don’ts for Engaging Men and Boys in Health: A Learning and Exchange Session on How to Apply Relevant Tools and Frameworks
Interagency Gender Working Group: Male Engagement Task Force
May 18 at 8 AM ET/12 PM GMT
Registration
