How Young People Want You to Shift Power

Posted Novembro 12, 2022

By Amanda Burgess, Advance Family Planning, United States; Angeline Mutunga, MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership, Kenya; Carina Ubisse Capitine, The African Women’s Development and Communication Network, Mozambique; Claire Mathonsi, Advocacy Accelerator, Kenya; Goodness Ogeyi Odey, International Youth Alliance on Family Planning, Nigeria; Mwenya Chiti, Phakama Africa, Zambia

Colonialism and its legacy are part of our shared human history. The social structures, funding models, and knowledge generation practices that define global health are rooted in a history of inequality, exploitation, and racism. For the family planning community, this is a history of coercion, population control, and eugenics. This history may not be un-done and prior calls to challenge this legacy have fallen short. Now is the time to boldly move forward to address the underlying systems of oppression, to shift power, and to create a more equitable world.

At the core of our focus: what can the family planning community do to shift power and accelerate efforts to advance equity in global health now?

There are four key questions we will explore at the Shifting Power and Advancing Equity in Global Health pre-conference on Nov. 14, 2022:

What historical legacies in family planning and development do we need to unpack as a community before we can move forward?

What can donors and partners do right now to deliver on the promise to meaningfully move leadership and development funding to local experts?

How can we minimize operational barriers–like institutional architecture, funding models, and leadership–to help individuals, organizations, and donors act more equitably?

What is the current state of power dynamics at play at the global, regional, national, subnational, and community levels?

Shifting power requires each of us to approach this work courageously, honestly, and humbly. It requires self-reflection and a commitment to engage in open and honest dialogues. It also calls us to more equitably partner with the communities we serve. We believe that everyday choices and actions will create the world we want to see.

This International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) community dialogue takes place in person from 7:30am–12:30pm at the Royal Cliff Grand Hotel in Pattaya City–thanks to the support of our generous sponsors the Transforming INGO Models for Equity (TIME) initiative, the Advocacy Accelerator, and the Guttmacher Institute. We hope this event is only the beginning of a growing movement to address power shifting and increase equity within the family planning community.

We invite you to share your voice and join us to address racism, shift power, and challenge structural inequality in family planning and global health. If you are interested in remaining engaged in this work sign up to stay in touch here. For more information on the pre-conference check out the website.

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This article is a part of PSI’s ICFP 2022 Impact Magazine. Explore the magazine here.

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Digitalizing contraceptive counseling to reach rural women and girls in Ethiopia

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In rural Ethiopia, women and girls often face significant barriers in accessing healthcare facilities, which can be located hours away. Moreover, there is a prevailing stigma surrounding the use of contraception, with concerns about potential infertility or the perception of promiscuity. To address these challenges, the Smart Start initiative has emerged, linking financial well-being with family planning through clear and relatable messaging that addresses the immediate needs of young couples—planning for the lives and families they envision. Smart Start takes a community-based approach, utilizing a network of dedicated Navigators who engage with women in their localities. These Navigators provide counseling and refer interested clients to Health Extension Workers or healthcare providers within Marie Stopes International-operated clinics for comprehensive contraceptive counseling and services.

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In 2022, 328 thousand malaria cases were recorded by CHWs); 6.5 thousand severe malaria cases were referred to health centers, according to the national health information system.

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Supervisors directly observed how CHWs performed malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and administered artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). They recorded CHW performance using the digitized checklist, interviewed community members, reviewed records, and provided on-the-spot coaching. They also interviewed the CHWs and tried to resolve challenges they expressed, including with resupply of commodities or equipment immediately or soon afterwards.

Beyond the observed interactions with patients, supervisors heard from community members that they were pleased that CHWs were able to provide essential malaria services in the community. And the data shows the impact.

In IM-supported areas of Mali, 36% of CHWs in the first round were competent in performing the RDT, which rose to 53% in the second. 24% of CHWs in the first round compared to 38% in the second were competent in the treatment of fever cases and pre-referral counseling. Between both rounds, availability of ACT increased from 80 percent to 90 percent.

Supportive supervision with interviews and observations at sites improved the basic competencies of CHWs between the first and second rounds, and additional rounds will help to understand the longer-term programmatic benefits.

Taking a market-based approach to scale sanitation in Ethiopia

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“Rather than relying on traditional aid models that often distribute free or heavily subsidized sanitation products, market-based sanitation creates sustainable and affordable solutions, integrating market forces and supporting businesses to grow.”

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Seven years ago, the landscape of HIV self-testing lacked global guidelines, and only the U.S., the UK and France had policies in place that allowed for HIV self-testing. High disease burdened countries in low-and-middle-income-countries (LMICs) lacked evidence and guidance for HIVST despite major gaps in HIV diagnosis.

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How Young People Want You to Shift Power

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The Consumer as CEO

Digitalizing contraceptive counseling to reach rural women and girls in Ethiopia

Building community health worker capacity to deliver malaria care

Taking a market-based approach to scale sanitation in Ethiopia

Promoting self-managed care like Self-testing and Self-Sampling

Using peer coaches to counter HIV stigma in South Africa

simplifying consumers’ journey to care in Vietnam

Engaging the private sector for disease surveillance in Myanmar

Training health workers in Angola

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