Testimonies

“Since the Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia (the nearest other such country is East Timor), the Church really asserts its doctrines there, including during elections every three years. They emphasize that we shouldn’t vote for politicians who support family planning. But the last survey on this issue,...

“India’s flagship national health programme – the National Rural Health Programme – primarily focuses on family planning, reproductive health and maternal health. But family planning is the most under-implemented aspect. The focus is on maternal health, and people haven’t yet made the connection between maternal health and family planning.”

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“In 2007, the Government declared a state of emergency for maternal health, which made it possible for expectant mothers who have registered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to access free antenatal and delivery care. This was a laudable initiative but the Government also needs to make services available...

“If we strategically support the government through policy formulation, which will help to scale up reproductive health services and commodities. I think over time we can have bigger impact by supporting them to develop policies, strategies and creating guidelines, than we would if we were in the streets holding placards....

“SRHR issues are real, and as a doctor I saw them on a daily basis. What shocked me was the stress girls would have, coming in with many questions but very few answers.”

“One girl came after she had a good experience, but the condom broke and...

“In Mexico, population growth was slowing, but now that trend is stalled. The recent census found that there were five million more people than was projected, and academics and others concluded that this was because the Government has made so little effort to promote family planning.”

“One of the problems donors bring up is that they think politicians use money for political gain. We have to have more confidence in our politicians to deliver the right things. Also, people only talk about the political, rather than seeing the whole picture: they do not separate the executive...

“We need donors to trust community organizations to innovate. My experience with the Trust was that it was a tiny initiative borne out of the pain in my family, in this big family, almost a football team. Three of my siblings died of HIV-related illnesses, and two of my siblings...

"A sector-based approach has been used, but it does not meet the demands of families, which are multifaceted and comprehensive. Our approach should be multifaceted and comprehensive, too."

Ethiopia has a good health strategy, and in recent years there have been positive programmes for reaching rural communities,...

“When we think about unmet need, there’s a recognition that it’s about what women want, and there’s a huge opportunity to fulfil women’s needs. To do that, we have to help to empower them, which leads to multiple benefits for development and planning. This is framing it according to human...