Family planning is one aspect of the targets around universal access to sexual and reproductive health found in the SDGs (3.7 and 5.6). If your country is a FP2020 focus country or commitment maker, you can leverage the SDGs as a way of increasing the political priority of family planning, as well as ensuring the two SDG targets are being fulfilled. You can also use the Costed Implementation Plans (CIPs) – multi-year roadmaps designed to help governments achieve family planning goals – to strengthen your advocacy for the implementation of both the SDG and FP2020 commitments.

The world is facing a contraceptive funding crisis. Sufficient investment in contraception is not being prioritized at the global, national and subnational level. National and subnational governments need to prioritise family planning by allocating dedicated funds for contraceptive commodities. This discussion paper highlights contraceptive commodity security concerns in FP2020 countries in East Africa that will likely experience a reduction in global funding support for contraception from 2016 to 2020.

Key facts and figures highlighting IPPF's achievements in 2015.            

When IPPF refocused efforts with the three Changes Goals – Unite, Deliver and Perform – an ambitious commitment was made to double the number of sexual and reproductive health services provided between 2010 and 2015. We are proud to announce that 175.3 million services were provided in 2015, only 1 per cent below the goal of 176.4 million. This is a remarkable achievement and a result of Member Associations’ unwavering efforts and commitment. More than eight in ten clients who received services from IPPF were poor and vulnerable, while 44 per cent of our services went to young people. In 2015, Member Associations and collaborative partners in 48 countries contributed to 82 legal and policy changes that support or defend sexual and reproductive health and rights. At the regional and global levels, IPPF’s advocacy contributed to 22 policy changes. The highlight of our advocacy achievements was the inclusion of gender equality and women’s empowerment, sexual and reproductive health, and reproductive rights in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. IPPF continued to invest in learning, business processes and information management systems to drive performance and value for money. We are increasingly using data to guide decision making and to ensure accountability to our clients, donors and partners.

As the largest civil society provider of family planning, IPPF plays a leadership role – holding governments to account for the pledges they made at the London Summit on Family Planning 2012, pushing for family planning and SRHR within the new Sustainable Development Goals national plans whilst strengthening our own delivery. Our new pledge is to reach an additional 45 million between 2015 and 2020 – meaning a total FP2020 contribution from IPPF of 60 million new users to family planning.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a framework of 17 goals and 169 targets across social, economic and environmental areas of sustainable development, which United Nations (UN) Member States have committed to making a reality over the next 15 years. The SDGs are to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which expire at the end of 2015, but are much broader in their scope. Unlike the MDGs, which were focussed on social issues, the SDGs set out targets across all three dimensions – social, economic and environmental – of sustainable development. Furthermore, while the MDGs were targeted at developing countries, the SDGs are applicable to all countries. The SDGs form part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which UN Member States adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015. The adoption of the Agenda is the culmination of a lengthy process of intergovernmental negotiations and consultations that lasted nearly three years. The outcome document of the process, ‘Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, consists of a short preamble, a declaration (outlining the vision and principles underlying the Agenda), the SDGs and accompanying targets, as well as sections on the means of implementation and the follow-up and review of the Agenda. The 2030 Agenda is an important political consensus document declaring UN Member States’ intent to work collectively towards achieving people-centred sustainable development over the next 15 years. The 2030 Agenda can be expected to affect the policy and funding priorities of both implementing governments and donors during this time, leading to a channelling of global development funding to the areas reflected in the goals and targets and influencing national development strategies and programming. This will present important opportunities for both advocates and service providers of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).