Hon. Mereseini Rakuita will be joining as the Chair of the partnership’s new Governing Board.
Dr. Dube and Ms. Rakuita will lead the global partnership as it becomes even more collaborative and inclusive to reach more women and girls with life-saving access to family planning information, services and supplies than ever before.
Washington, D.C. – Family Planning 2030 (FP2030) is pleased to announce that Dr. Samukeliso Dube has been named Executive Director of the global partnership dedicated to improving access to family planning for people everywhere. Dr. Dube will be leading the partnership as it looks to shift the leadership of the global movement, establishing regional hubs around the globe to ensure greater country participation in the direction of the partnership.
As part of this shift in representative leadership, FP2030 is also pleased to announce that Hon. Mereseini Rakuita, former Minister of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation of Fiji, will be the first Chair of the partnership’s new Governing Board as it oversees and shapes FP2030’s key strategies.
Dr. Dube joins FP2030 after a career in private sector health-care enterprises. A physician by training, her career began in maternal and child health programs, leading up to her leadership as the Africa Program Director of the Global Campaign for Microbicides at PATH, a global NGO focused on innovations that improve health equity. Dr. Dube’s experience with global NGOs, philanthropy and entrepreneurship make her uniquely skilled to guide FP2030 as it expands to better support a global partnership, ensuring a smooth transition to a new model centered around regional hubs and driven by country leadership.
Ms. Rakuita brings her experience in as the leading policy voice for women and children in Fiji to her role as Global Chair. As Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, she chaired the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on the Beijing+25 Review, which called for accelerated progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Under this new remit, she will be overseeing the Governing Board, a diverse group of experts comprised of members from various FP2030 stakeholder groups from across the globe. The new board marks a shift from FP2020’s governance with a greater focus on diverse representation from governments, global NGOs, national civil society and youth leaders, as well as donors, with a specific eye to diversity of gender, age, geography, and background, including young people under the age of 30.
Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of UNFPA and co-chair of the FP2020 Reference Group, praised the selection of the new leaders.
“I am delighted that FP2030 will be guided by a pair of accomplished leaders that bring with them a broad range of complementary expertise. I am confident the partnership will thrive under Dr. Dube and Ms. Vuniwaqa’s leadership and look forward to working with them to ensure that every woman and girl has access to voluntary family planning, no matter where she lives.”
Dr. Kanem will continue to serve on the FP2030 Governing Board.
The decision to appoint Dr. Dube as Executive Director is part of FP2030’s transition from FP2020, a global partnership founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNFPA, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and the US Agency for International Development, focused on 69 low and middle income countries, to an expanded global partnership, open to commitments from any government or other family planning stakeholders, including those representing other sectors, such as HIV or climate change. Following extensive consultation with FP2020 stakeholders, the leaders of the partnership proposed a new structure, one that would stretch across five regional hubs, with greater direction set by regional and national leadership.
Dr. Dube, incoming Executive Director of FP2030, said: “It is an immense privilege to be leading the partnership at a time where it is undergoing this important and necessary transition. I look forward to working with our partners as we expand the FP2030 partnership and decentralize our agenda to reflect regional priorities., Together, we will work to ensure that every woman and girl, wherever she lives, will be able to make reproductive health choices that make them participate as equal in society and in economies.”
Ms. Rakuita, Chair of the FP2030 Governing Board, said: “I’m proud to be taking the helm with this new role steering such a diverse and passionate group of Board Members as FP2030 enters this new phase of advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide. Having led regional consultations to review and reiterate ICPD and Beijing commitments, I am sure that this Board, with all of these diverse perspectives, will be able to drive FP2030 to achieve its goals.”
On November 18th, FP2030 will be celebrating Dr. Dube’s and Ms. Rakuita’s appointments, the first national commitments of the FP2030 partnership, along with first commitments from Latin America and major announcements from the Gates Foundation and UNFPA. Visit the event page, Launching FP2030, for more information.
Notes to editors
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Family Planning 2030
Family Planning 2030 (FP2030) is a global partnership working with governments, civil society, multilateral organizations, donors, the private sector, and the research and development community to enable millions more women to use contraceptives no matter where they live. An outcome of the 2012 London Summit on Family Planning, FP2030’s objective is to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health services and rights by 2030, as laid out in Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5. FP2030 is in support of the UN Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health.
