Nairobi, Kenya, 4 November 2019 (F2A) –

Faith and family planning interact in complex ways at personal, community, civil society, and governmental levels. Better understanding of this by all stakeholders will allow secular actors, faith leaders, and FBOs to more effectively advance family planning.

This brief summarizes knowledge about how secular partners can more effectively engage with the faith actors to help women achieve their fertility intentions and to improve healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy, including the voluntary use of modern contraceptive methods. Its aim is to inform the FP2020’s work post 2020.

The brief identifies successful approaches and engagements, lists lessons learned, reviews challenges, gaps and opportunities, before concluding with four main recommendations: (1) Increase country-level focus on integration of religious leaders and faith organisations into the FP2020 work. (2) Make sure that faith organisations are sitting meaningfully at the table on all committees and working groups, in political and policy discussions, in developing training modules. (3) Facilitate a “safe space” FP2020 platform for faith organisations and secular family planning actors for continuous dialogue and discussion. (4) Establish or advocate for funding that encourages faith and secular actors to apply jointly for project support.

Download the brief here: FP2020_FaithBrief