Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) 2

Strengthening the enabling environment for SRHR and reinforcing health systems to deliver sustainable, inclusive access to integrated SRHR services with a special focus on humanitarian and fragile settings.

The Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) project, championed by a ‘Leave No One Behind’ approach, advances quality, integrated, and inclusive family planning and sexual and reproductive health (SRHR) services tailored to the needs of marginalized and hard-to-reach populations. In Eastern Africa, WISH2 builds on proven strategies and successes to extend access for populations often overlooked, young people, persons with disabilities, those living in poverty, and communities affected by conflict or displacement.

Donor: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)

Budget: Total budget of £ 75 million for East and Southern Africa

Duration: 2024 to 2029

Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and representing a significant commitment within the UK Government’s family planning framework, the WISH2 Eastern Africa initiative is led by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and executed by a dedicated consortium with partners including the International Rescue Committee (IRC), IPAS, Options Consultancy Services, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (JHU-CCP).

Background on WISH 1 to WISH 2 Evolutions

The Women's Integrated Sexual Health project was launched in 2018 as FCDO’s flagship initiative to expand access to voluntary family planning and sexual and reproductive health and rights services across 27 countries in Africa and Asia. The project was delivered in two parts, with Lot 2 (WISH2ACTION) implemented by a consortium led by IPPF, alongside MSI, Options, Humanity & Inclusion (HI), and IRC. WISH2ACTION aimed to deliver 16.921 million couple years of protection (CYPs) and reach 2.2 million additional users through a comprehensive approach to ensure equitable access to family planning and SRHR, prioritising youth under 20, the very poor, and marginalised populations including persons with disabilities and those in humanitarian or hard-to-reach settings. Its design integrated four core outputs: community and individual choice (Output 1), sustainability through national ownership (Output 2), access to quality services (Output 3), and global goods and evidence (Output 4). The success and learning from WISH2ACTION laid the foundation for WISH 2, which deepens focus on national systems strengthening, disability inclusion, safeguarding, and resilience in fragile contexts, ensuring SRHR remains a global priority while reaching those most at risk of being left behind.

WISH 2 builds on successes and learning from WISH 1, while shifting toward greater national ownership, systems resilience, and sustainability. With a sharper focus on fragile and conflict-affected contexts, WISH 2 moves beyond service delivery to embedding SRHR within national policy frameworks, strengthening accountability, and enhancing inclusion through the systematic integration of disability rights, safeguarding, and climate-sensitive approaches. It places greater emphasis on evidence generation, adaptive learning, and localised solutions, ensuring that services are not only available but also accessible, equitable, and responsive to community needs. WISH 2 represents a strategic evolution, aligning with global priorities to “leave no one behind”while reinforcing SRHR as a critical component of universal health coverage and sustainable development.

Read more about WISH2.