Messages from the Ouagadougou Partnership
- “West African countries have some of the lowest contraceptive prevalence rates in the world, with serious consequences for women, girls, families, and society”
- “The Ouagadougou Partnership has in just five years catalyzed action and commitments from country governments, foreign donors, and many NGOs. As a direct result, the region has seen the largest improvements in family planning in generations, and today millions of women choose to use safe and affordable modern contraception which was not the case just a few years ago.”
- “The US government is the single largest donor for family planning in the region. The Global Gag Rule (The Mexico City Policy) risks disrupting the incredible progress of the past five years by reducing between 30 percent to 70 percent of resources necessary to current family planning programs.”
- In addition to USAID, other donors and technical partners such as UNFPA, Marie Stop International, IPPF, are providing exceptional support to this somewhat neglected area of sexual and reproductive health and rights. The City of Mexico’s policy will drastically reduce their ability to continue and maintain their support and run the risk of losing momentum and the spectacular progress achieved so far.
- « We support the European Union’s vision for sexual and reproductive health and rights, and welcome this initiative from the governments of Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark and hope that it will benefit young people and women in Francophone West Africa.