by Dr. Samukeliso Dube, FP2030 Executive Director
The Future of Family Planning meeting took place while many in our movement are still reeling from recent funding cuts.
Yet, I remain inspired. Everyone in our movement is rallying together to respond collectively and to identify new ideas and ways to advance our efforts. It’s time to write this new era together.
Family planning is a best buy and the investment our world needs collectively. Now is the moment to normalize the conversation around family planning so we are never again in this position where we have to justify the importance of family. That is why our collective campaign, Made Possible by Family Planning, is so crucial. I hope that everyone will join us in telling their own story of what is made possible by family planning.
These are challenging times, but as Traci Baird, President and CEO of EngenderHealth, said during the convening, we are up for the challenge. I was particularly inspired by our youth leaders at the meeting, who reminded us that change is not always bad. After all, if we keep doing the same thing we have always done, we will never succeed. In some ways, this crisis will push our movement to be better: to achieve more with less, reach new audiences, and push us further than ever before. We must continue to come together to identify what innovations we can embrace to break down the longstanding barriers to innovation.
We cannot operate from a place of fear and paralysis, but instead dare to find hope, to seek out new voices to bring to the table and new ideas.
We must push back on the pushback. We must arm ourselves with data, tell our story in new ways, equip new champions with the ability to tell their story, embrace every way to reach new audiences, and put advocacy at the heart of all we do.
And finally, we must put youth at the heart of what we do and how we do it. They will be the ones to guide us through this crisis and into a brighter future.
We are ALL FP2030. So I hope you join us in telling a new global story about what family planning has made possible. Let’s work together to make the impossible possible.
