LIVE | Dakar

———————————————————————————————————————————–

12.2.11 | Bill Finger, FHI 360

Bill Finger LIVE from ICFP: Successful week in Dakar

Bill Finger is an Associate Director for the PROGRESS project at FHI 360.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

12.2.11 | Lisa Basalla, K4Health

Gender Is Important. So What? The Complexities Of Measuring It.

Originally posted on K4Health’s Blog

Seventeen years ago, the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development focused attention on the need to account for gender roles, needs, and relations when designing policies and programs that address population, health and nutrition issues. Today, the issue of gender equality is still challenging the international community as it addresses family planning. Family planning programs seek to ensure that women and men can choose, obtain, and use a wide range of high quality, affordable contraceptive methods. The relationship and interaction between women and men plays a key role in whether or not they use a family planning method.

Read the full post at K4Health’s Blog

By Lisa Basalla, Knowledge Management (KM) Officer for Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs (JHU∙CCP) – KM Division.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

12.2.11 | Amrita Bhende, FHI 360

Amrita Bhende LIVE from ICFP: The importance of creating learning centers for knowledge exchange

Amrita Bhende is a Senior Program Officer in the FHI 360 Maharashtra, India office.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

12.2.11 | Kelly L’Engle and Heather Vadhat, FHI 360

FHI 360’s m4RH Program is Using Mobile Phones to Overcome Young People’s Barriers to Contraceptive Access

Originally posted on IYWG’s Blog: Half the World

FHI 360’s m4RH team presented their preliminary research findings at the International Confrence on Family Planning. Their presentation explored the potential of mobile-phone-based programs to overcome barriers that young people face in accessing contraceptives. Below is an interview with the principle investigator Kelly L’Engle and co principle-investigator, Heather Vadhat.

Read the full post on IYWG’s Blog: Half the World

By principle investigator, Kelly L’Engle, FHI 360 and co principle-investigator, Heather Vadhat, FHI 360

———————————————————————————————————————————–

12.2.11 | Kelly L’Engle, FHI 360

Kelly L’Engle LIVE from ICFP: Designing mobile phone programs to increase their likelihood of success

Kelly L’Engle is the Principle Investigator of the M4RH project, FHI 360.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

12.2.11 | Jay Gribble, PRB

Youth: A Breath of Fresh Air

Originally posted on PRB’s Blog: By the Numbers

The ICFP 2011 High-Level Meeting organized for Ministers of Planning, Finance, and Health of African countries is focusing on achieving the demographic dividend. While it’s easy to talk about this process that led to the economic success of the “Asian Tigers” in abstract terms, it’s more difficult to speak in specifics about it. Fortunately, Ruth Levine of the Hewlett Foundation did focus her comments on the need to pay attention to the needs of youth—highlighting the “Millennium Development Babies” –the cohort born in 2000 which will soon be reaching age 12. As the largest birth cohort in human history, the outcome of this generation can either energize or destabilize societies around the world. I’d like to reflect on a few of Ruth’s comments.

Read full post at PRB’s Blog: By the Numbers

by Jay Gribble, vice president, International Programs

———————————————————————————————————————————–

12.1.11 | Interagency Youth Working Group (IWYG), FHI 360

Will You Answer the Call?

Yesterday, the IYWG held an interactive youth session at the International Conference on Family Planning to develop messages aimed at increasing international attention to young people’s health and development and to move the commitments made in the Abuja Call to Action into practice. Visit www.WhyTheCall.org to learn more about their campaign and how you can get involved in raising awarness about sexual and reproductive health issues for young people.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

12.1.11 | David Olsen, AMREF USA

Dakar Conference Shows that Community Health Workers also Vital in Family Planning

Originally posted on AMREF USA Blog: Better Health for Africa

AMREF considers the shortage of community health workers (CHWs), particularly in rural areas, as one of the major challenges confronting health care in Africa, and it is one of our highest advocacy priorities. While sub-Saharan Africa has 34% of the global disease burden and 11% of the world’s population, it has only 3% of the world’s health workers (World Health Organization World Health Report 2006).

AMREF’s recent Position Statement on Community Health Workers stated that CHWs’ role is “imperative in achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals, especially those related to HIV and AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, maternal mortality and childhood diseases.”

Read the full post on AMREF USA’s Blog: Better Health for Africa

———————————————————————————————————————————–

12.1.11 | Primrose Manyalo

Social media is an essential channel for sexual & reproductive health information

Primrose works as a field officer and youth advocate for Restless Development, a youth-led development agency.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

12.1.11 | Ward Cates, President, Research, FHI 360

Ward Cates: LIVE Update from Day One & Two

———————————————————————————————————————————–

11.30.11 | Modern Ghana

On World AIDS Day, the Dual Burdens of Preventing Pregnancy and HIV Take Center Stage

Originally published in Modern Ghana

On World AIDS Day, leading reproductive health and contraception experts will gather to discuss the enormous challenges that women and men face, particularly in Africa, in preventing both unintended pregnancy and HIV infection. Speakers today will evaluate what it will take to achieve family planning and HIV integration—critical given limited resources, a lingering epidemic, and massive unmet need for contraception.

Thursday’s plenary will focus on the joint risk of HIV and unintended pregnancy and new initiatives to address both. Currently, the only methods that protect from both HIV and unplanned pregnancy are the male and female condom. New hope has come from a number of combination technologies in development – including a vaginal ring that releases both ARVs (anti-retroviral therapies) and contraceptives.

Read the full story in Modern Ghana

———————————————————————————————————————————–

11.30.11 | Gary Darmstadt, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The Power of the Demographic Dividend

Originally published on the Gates Foundation blog, ‘Impatient Optimists’.

I recently had the opportunity to attend a meeting at the World Bank where global health and development leaders and finance ministers from rich and poor countries met to share experiences and learning about the demographic dividend.

The concept of the demographic dividend is that when fertility rates in a country decline, fewer births take place each year, and the size of the population of individuals who are dependent on the state grows smaller.

Because there are fewer youth dependents, governments and families can save on basic needs such as health care, education, and food. This creates the opportunity for investments to be made in health, education, nutrition, and building the capabilities of this youthful population for productive enterprise, so that as they age, they become a powerful engine for economic growth…

Read the full story on ‘Impatient Optimists.’

———————————————————————————————————————————–

11.30.11 | @fpdakar2011

———————————————————————————————————————————–

11.30.11 | FHI 360

Community-based Distribution of Injectable Contraception: Radical Common Sense

Originally published on the Knowledge for Health website.

Community-based Distribution of Injectable Contraception: Radical Common Sense from M. Malkin on Vimeo.

This 7-minute advocacy video covers the research and programmatic evidence on the provision of injectable contraception by community health workers and the latest efforts to implement CBA2I programs throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The video includes the personal story of a woman in Uganda who has benefitted from the family planning services offered in her community.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

11.30.11 | Sarah Boseley, The Guardian (UK)

UK pledges £35m for family planning for poor countries

Originally published in the Guardian Newspaper (UK).

The UK is pledging new money for contraception to help prevent the deaths of thousands of women in poor countries as a result of unwanted, unsafe pregnancies and backstreet abortions.

Stephen O’Brien, international development minister, who made the announcement at the world’s biggest family planning conference in Dakar, Senegal, said the money was needed to increase women’s access to family planning, which is “absolutely four-square within our over-arching policy and strategic imperative to put girls and women front and centre of all our our development policies”.

“You get it right for girls and women – you get it right for development,” he said.

Read the full story on the Guardian

———————————————————————————————————————————–

11.29.11 | ICFP2011

Greetings from Hillary Clinton

Originally published on the 2011 International Conference on Family Planning Blog.

On behalf of the U.S. Department of State, it gives me great pleasure to extend my greetings to those gathered in Dakar for the International Family Planning Conference. While I regret I am unable to be with you in person today, I thank you for your leadership and hard work, and for your commitment to providing family planning and reproductive health care and services to the women and families who most need them.

With 53 million unintended pregnancies in the developing world each year, and 215 million women facing unmet needs for family planning, this is the year we must commit ourselves to accelerating our efforts to ensure that all women have access to family planning and reproductive health care and services…

Read the full story on the 2011 International Conference on Family Planning Blog.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

11.29.11 | Melinda Gates, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Melinda Gates’ Statement on Family Planning and ICFP 2011

In Dakar this afternoon, Melinda Gates addressed ICFP 2011 participants and distinguished guests via video. See her statement on why family planning is so important below.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

11.29.11 | Dr. Ward Cates, FHI 360

———————————————————————————————————————————–

11.29.11 | Jay Gribble, Vice President, International Programs, PRB

Dakar: 2011 ICFP Opening is Hours Away.

Originally published on PRB’s Blog, ‘Behind the Numbers’

Two years after the first international family planning conference in Uganda, people have come from around the world again to focus on prioritizing family planning—what is the new evidence, what advocacy successes have transpired, and how do we continue to improve access to family planning. And sitting in the lobby, passing through the hallways, standing in the registration area, there is a sense of anticipation that some important things will be happening during the next few days. The International Family Planning Conference 2011 is hours from starting.

Read the full story on PRB’s Blog, ‘Behind the Numbers’

———————————————————————————————————————————–

11.29.11 | Vanguard (Nigeria): By Sola Ogundipe

Family planning: Contraception is just the beginning.

Anna was 19 when she decided to have a late term abortion. It was a hugely upsetting experience for her particularly because she had not really been very conscientious about contraception. And she knew it. Anna, like many other young, unmarried adults, practiced non-penetrative sex. So when she missed a period, she went straight to her doctor to have a pregnancy test. It came back negative.

Read the full story on AllAfrica.com

———————————————————————————————————————————–

11.29.11 | ICFP2011

An App for Family Planning: A Q&A with Piers Boncock of K4Health

Originally published on the Knowledge for Health (K4Health) Blog.

Piers Bocock, MBA, director of the K4Health (Knowledge for Health) project, is part of the Center for Communication Programs (CCP) contingent from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health that will be attending the 2011 International Conference on Family Planning: Research and Practices.

Bocock discusses the relaunch of the latest edition (2011) of Family Planning: A Global Handbook for Providers, the seminal document on family planning, published by USAID, WHO and CCP.

Read the full story on the K4Health Blog.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

11.22.11 | ICFP2011

Duff Gillespie: Adventures in Family Planning

Originally published on the 2011 International Conference on Family Planning Blog.

Reproductive health and family planning are in a constantly shifting arena of challenges and opportunities. As the Dakar conference approaches, Duff Gillespie, director of Advance Family Planning (AFP), reflects on the U.S. reemergence in family planning, prospects for the Dakar conference and the particular challenges in West Africa and other topics in an interview with Brian W. Simpson, editor of Johns Hopkins Public Health magazine. Currently working in eight countries, AFP seeks to boost funding and policy commitments to family planning in developing countries.

Read the full story on the 2011 International Conference on Family Planning Blog.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

11.22.11 | Dr. Fred Sai

Ensuring family planning access: African leaders should do more

Originally published in the in The Patriotic Vanguard (Sierra Leon)

Rose is a mother of four, with a fifth on the way. At a time when she should be eagerly awaiting the birth of her child, she is instead worried about how to prevent her next pregnancy. She’d like to wait at least two years, but she doesn’t have that say because she doesn’t have access to family planning.

Rose’s story isn’t unique, although she is one in a million. Correction – she is 1 in 215 million. That’s how many women around the world today know they need modern contraception. And the numbers who do not know are even higher. In Nigeria, just 10 percent of married women use contraceptives regularly. On average each woman will have 6 children in her lifetime, and has a 1 in 23 chance of dying during pregnancy or childbirth.

Read full post in The Patriotic Vangaurd.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

11.21.11 | FHI 360

Look who’s talking about #ICFP2011

Twitter is buzzing with updates and news leading up to ICFP 2011. We invite you to join in! Include #ICFP2011 in your tweets and start to engage in the conversation. View the Twitter conversation in a larger format on our #ICFP2011 page.

————————————————————————————————————————————
11.18.11 | Johns Hopkins School of Public Health YouTube Channel

Robert Blum: Youth at the 2011 ICFP

With 12 young leaders and 150 adolescent participants attending, young people will play a prominent role in the 2011 International Conference on Family Planning according to Robert Wm. Blum, chair of the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Visit JohnsHokkinsSPH YouTube Channel

————————————————————————————————————————————
11.16.11 | FHI 360

FHI 360 joins other leaders as ICFP2011 Twitter Champions

FHI 360 has joined group of family planning opinion leaders and advocacy organizations from all corners of the world to serve as an official ‘Twitter Champions’ for the International Conference on Family Planning!

As a Twitter Champion, we will be adding to the Twitter conversations taking place at @fpdakar2011, #ICFP2011 and #familyplanning. Additionally, please visit our #ICFP2011 Conversation page to access the full conversation.

Read the announcement for more details.

————————————————————————————————————————————
11.12.11 | Johns Hopkins School of Public Health YouTube Channel

Dakar Conference Welcome Video by Amy Tsui

Visit JohnsHokkinsSPH YouTube Channel

————————————————————————————————————————————

11.12.11 | FHI 360

ICFP 2011: By the Numbers

The Numbers:

• More than 2,000 participants
• 340 oral presentations
• 45 panel presentations
• 170 posters
• 10 interactive sessions

For all the details and a full conference program, visit www.fpconference2011.org