Family Planning International works to develop advocacy in our region, the Pacific, on population and development issues. Two particular projects are:
Launched in October 2007, the Advocacy Learning Programme aims to equip Pacific International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) Member Associations (MAs) with advocacy skills.
The programme focuses on the development of skills to convince communities and governments of the importance of good sexual and reproductive health in achieving sustainable and economic development.
It was initiated following an advocacy needs appraisal that confirmed that MAs wanted to do more around advocacy. The programme is country specific, recognising that while many of the issues faced by Pacific countries are shared, the priority needs of individual countries are unique.
Workshops have been hosted with Kiribati Family Health Association and Vanuatu Family Health Association. In both cases, the Family Health Association invited colleagues from other civil society organisations and government, so that a wider group of people benefitted from learning more about advocacy.
Participants developed advocacy action plans on issues that they wanted to change in their communities. Further workshops are planned for 2008.
If you are interested in working with us to host an advocacy learning workshop, please do contact us.
Funded by Population Action International, this project focuses on gathering civil society perspectives on reproductive health supply issues in three Pacific countries: Kiribati, Tonga, and Vanuatu.
The aim being that this information will assist governments to improve future reproductive health supply planning and budgets, as well as feed into the monitoring of the agreed Pacific Regional Plan of Action.
Family Planning International is also coordinating advocacy workshops in the three countries, with the aim of contributing towards civil society's work with their own communities and governments to improve reproductive health supply access and security.
Across the Pacific, there is inconsistent access to sexual and reproductive health supplies. This contributes to poor sexual and reproductive health across the region, including:
- high rates of Sexually Transmissible Infections;
- unplanned teenage pregnancies;
- persistent maternal mortality
- a generalised epidemic of HIV and AIDS in Papua New Guinea.