Next week more than 3,000 political leaders, scientists, health care professionals, advocates and young leaders from around the globe will gather in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the third International Conference on Family Planning or ICFP2013. A year ago, the global community came together to launch Family Planning 2020, which has generated unprecedented political will and financial support to reduce global unmet need for family planning by giving 120 million more women access to modern contraceptives, information and services by 2020. Conference participants in Addis will share the latest data, research and program findings to help achieve Family Planning 2020’s goal.
Organized around the theme “Full Access, Full Choice,” ICFP 2013 will call attention to the wide range of health, social, and economic benefits of helping couples plan and space their pregnancies. Holding the conference in Ethiopia is an opportunity to celebrate and showcase the success Ethiopia has had in greatly increasing access to family planning in a few short years. In 2005, 15% of married women used a form of modern contraception, and today nearly 29% are modern family planning users. However, there is still more to be done to ensure women’s needs are met.
Women gather at a health post in Ethiopia. USAID trains and supports health extension workers across Ethiopia’s health system in the most populous regions of the country. Photo credit: Nena Terrell, USAID Ethiopia
Women know what they want and when they demand it, we must listen: The ability to make important decisions about childbearing is one of the most basic human rights. Women deserve family planning options that are effective, affordable, available, and accessible and they need to be able to make their reproductive decisions freely and with full information. USAID is committed to developing new, affordable contraceptives and to supporting countries as they strengthen their health systems as part of an effort to fulfill full access and full choice for family planning. We’ve made great progress, but we must do more to ensure that everyone has true access to voluntary family planning information, services and methods that meet their needs.
USAID is proud to co-sponsor the International Conference on Family Planning, which is jointly organized by the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia and the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. A number of USAID’s technical experts will present at the conference on the latest progress and challenges around increasing access to family planning.
Visit USAID’s ICFP webpage to access a calendar of USAID-sponsored events, the latest news and updates from the conference, and useful technical resources for participants.
Follow USAID for Global Health on Twitter for live updates and use the hashtag #ICFP2013 to join the conversation.
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