Galvanizing Commitment: Creating a Supportive Environment for Family Planning Programs

"Demonstrable commitment to family planning strengthens the enabling environment in which programs and policies are implemented...Advocacy plays a key role in moving toward establishing commitment as stakeholders link the problem and evidence with the specific investment needed."

This brief discusses the process of commitment making around family planning, highlighting three forms of commitment - expressed, institutional, and financial - at the global, regional, country, and subnational levels. It discusses why galvanising support for family planning is important, presents examples of different types of commitment and how they advance the enabling environment, and offers learning from experts in the field. The brief was published as part of a series that focuses on high-impact practices in family planning, (HIPs), identified by a technical advisory group of international experts.

The brief first outlines the impact of different kinds of commitments. Expressed commitments are often the first step toward more substantial ownership and investment in family planning programming, but this needs to be followed up by institutional commitments that involve greater investment, such as from governments creating or upgrading a public agency. Building on this, financial commitments further "reflect a willingness of governments and the private sector to invest resources to advance access to family planning information, services, and commodities."

The brief then provides ideas around working to secure these kinds of commitments. "Advocacy, evidence, and accountability are three interrelated components needed to affirm commitment to family planning programs. Because commitments to family planning can waver in both the public and the private sectors, it is important to invest in systems and processes that support family planning over the long term while strengthening capacity in advocacy and accountability - especially for those times when commitments waver."

According to the brief, advocacy can be used to increase commitment and follow through for family planning. This includes recognising key moments in the political process at which advocacy plays a key role, as well as involving civil society organisations, professional associations, and the media in coordinated advocacy efforts. The media has an important role to play, "not as advocates but as unbiased communicators of the underlying problems, their consequences to the public, and the need for commitments to address the situation." Another advocacy strategy is to support policy champions from diverse sectors who can reach out to decision-makers to nurture ideas of commitment and to follow through with accountability approaches.

The brief then outlines how to use evidence to inform advocacy efforts and reinforce accountability, for example around financial data an programme impacts. There is also a need to monitor progress toward meeting commitments. "Civil society can play a crucial role in holding governments accountable. Social accountability offers a variety of approaches - from periodic community assessments to ongoing budget tracking. Civil society organizations can work together to identify the most effective approach for tracking the commitment they are monitoring."

Click here to download the full brief in Spanish in PDF format.