Seventh International Conference on Family Planning – World Health Organization (WHO)

Report on Multi-Agency Participation in the 2025 International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP)

Introduction: Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals through Global Collaboration

A consortium of global health organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the UN Special Programme in Human Reproduction (HRP), and the IBP Network, will participate in the seventh International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) in Bogotá, Colombia, from 3-6 November 2025. The conference theme, Equity through Action: Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for All, directly aligns with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), primarily SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). This event represents a critical platform for accelerating progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by disseminating evidence and tools for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

Strategic Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

The organizations’ engagement at ICFP 2025 is strategically designed to advance key SDG targets through targeted actions, partnerships, and the dissemination of evidence-based guidance.

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: The core focus on family planning and SRHR directly supports Target 3.7, which calls for universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services. The launch of new clinical guidelines and implementation tools will equip nations to strengthen primary health care and progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
• SDG 5: Gender Equality: By promoting access to contraception, preventing adolescent pregnancy, and addressing child marriage, the initiatives contribute to Target 5.3 (eliminate harmful practices) and Target 5.6 (ensure universal access to SRHR). Empowering individuals with reproductive autonomy is fundamental to achieving gender equality and enhancing women’s socioeconomic outcomes.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: The conference’s emphasis on equity, including dedicated sessions for youth, indigenous communities, and regional priorities from Latin America and the Caribbean, directly addresses the need to reduce health disparities within and among countries.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: The collaborative model involving WHO, PAHO, HRP, the IBP Network, national governments, and civil society exemplifies the multi-stakeholder partnerships required to achieve the SDGs.

Key Initiatives and Deliverables for SDG Advancement

Advancing Global Guidance and Normative Tools

A primary objective is the dissemination of updated, evidence-based global guidance to support countries in achieving their health and development targets. Key launches include:

1. Medical Eligibility Criteria (MEC) and Selected Practice Recommendations (SPR): The official launch of the sixth edition of the MEC and the fourth edition of the SPR will provide the latest evidence-based recommendations for contraceptive use, forming a cornerstone for quality family planning services globally (contributing to SDG 3.7).
2. Guideline on Preventing Early Pregnancy: A new WHO guideline on preventing early pregnancy and poor reproductive outcomes among adolescents will be presented, with new recommendations on preventing child marriage, directly supporting SDG 5.3.
3. Guidance on Scaling Up Services: Three new documents will be launched to guide the scale-up of Task Shifting, Social and Behavior Change, and Post-Pregnancy Family Planning, offering practical tools to expand access to services (contributing to SDG 3 and SDG 10).

Strengthening Implementation and Capacity (SDG 17 & SDG 3)

Efforts will focus on translating global guidance into country-level impact through robust partnerships and capacity building.

• Implementation Track: Co-led by WHO and the IBP Network, this track will feature multilingual sessions to amplify community and civil society voices from diverse regions, ensuring local experiences inform global implementation strategies.
• FP Accelerator Project: This initiative showcases a partnership model for providing technical support to countries, conducting research, and scaling up family planning programs.
• Capacity Building in Research: The Scientific Writing, Mentoring and Coaching Course will support early-career investigators from low- and middle-income countries, strengthening local research capacity and fostering a new generation of leaders in SRHR.

Inclusive Engagement to Reduce Inequalities (SDG 10 & SDG 5)

Specific activities are planned to ensure the voices and needs of diverse and often marginalized populations are central to the global agenda.

• Youth Engagement: Sessions at the Youth Pre-Conference will focus on comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) and adolescent pregnancy prevention.
• Regional and Indigenous Priorities: A Spanish-language pre-conference will highlight experiences from Latin America and the Caribbean, including those of indigenous groups, to ensure regional solutions inform global discourse.
• Disability and SRHR: The IBP Network Program Implementation Track will include sessions dedicated to disability-inclusive SRHR, menstrual health, and other key topics for underserved populations.

Global Leadership and Future Outlook

The high-level participation of WHO leadership, including addresses from Dr. Pascale Allotey and Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, will underscore the organization’s unwavering commitment to evidence-based SRHR as an indispensable component of UHC and primary health care. For the first time, a virtual booth will be hosted to make all resources globally accessible, furthering the goal of equitable knowledge dissemination. ICFP 2025 serves as a pivotal moment to reinforce global partnerships and accelerate collective action towards achieving the health and gender equality targets of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • The article is centered on the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP), which directly addresses health. It explicitly mentions “family planning and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR),” “essential health services,” and the goal of achieving “universal health coverage.” The development and launch of guidelines like the Medical Eligibility Criteria (MEC) for contraceptive use and preventing poor reproductive outcomes are core to ensuring good health.

2. SDG 5: Gender Equality

   • The focus on SRHR is fundamental to gender equality. The article highlights issues such as “preventing child marriage,” supporting “adolescent access to contraception,” and the “impact of contraceptive use on women’s health and socioeconomic outcomes.” These topics are about empowering women and girls to have control over their bodies and futures, a key aspect of SDG 5.

3. SDG 4: Quality Education

   • The article mentions specific educational initiatives, such as co-leading sessions on “comprehensive sexuality education (CSE)” at the Youth Pre-Conference. CSE is a crucial part of providing quality education that equips young people with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about their health and relationships.

4. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • The conference theme, “Equity through Action: Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for All,” directly addresses SDG 10. The article emphasizes reaching diverse and often marginalized populations, including “civil society and community voices from Latin America, Africa, Asia and beyond,” “youth advocates,” “indigenous groups,” and people in “low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).”

5. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • The entire article is framed around collaboration. It details partnerships between multiple organizations like the “World Health Organization (WHO), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the UN Special Programme in Human Reproduction (HRP) and the IBP Network.” It also describes collaboration with “Country Governments, global and local partners,” and “civil society” to “provide technical support to countries, conduct new research and scale up family planning.”

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 3.7: Universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services

   • This target is central to the article’s purpose. The conference and the work of WHO and its partners aim to “advance progress in SRHR” and “scale up family planning services worldwide.” The launch of new guidelines and tools for contraceptive use is a direct action towards achieving universal access to these services.

2. Target 5.6: Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights

   • The article’s focus on SRHR, preventing “early pregnancy and child marriage,” and supporting “adolescent access to contraception” directly aligns with this target. It aims to empower individuals, particularly women and adolescents, to make their own decisions about their reproductive health.

3. Target 4.7: Ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including gender equality and human rights

   • The planned sessions and workshops on “comprehensive sexuality education (CSE)” are a direct contribution to this target. CSE provides learners with essential knowledge about health, well-being, and rights.

4. Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all

   • The conference theme “Equity through Action” and the specific efforts to include “youth,” “indigenous priorities in SRHR,” and voices from “Latin America, Africa, Asia and beyond” demonstrate a clear commitment to this target by working to ensure SRHR services are accessible to all, regardless of their background or location.

5. Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development

   • The article exemplifies this target by describing how WHO, PAHO, HRP, and the IBP Network are working together with governments and civil society. This multi-stakeholder partnership aims to “mobilize and share knowledge, expertise,” and “tools” to “accelerate the scale-up of family planning services worldwide.”

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Indicators for Target 3.7

   • The article implies progress can be measured by the “scale-up of family planning services.” This relates to official indicator 3.7.1 (Proportion of women of reproductive age who have their need for family planning satisfied with modern methods). The focus on preventing “early pregnancy” among adolescents implies indicator 3.7.2 (Adolescent birth rate).

2. Indicators for Target 5.6

   • The article’s mention of new recommendations on “preventing child marriage” implies progress could be measured by a reduction in this practice, which relates to indicator 5.3.1 (Proportion of women aged 20-24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18). The focus on “adolescent access to contraception” and women’s socioeconomic outcomes relates to indicator 5.6.1 (Proportion of women who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care).

3. Indicators for Target 4.7

   • The implementation of “comprehensive sexuality education (CSE)” is a key activity mentioned. Progress could be measured by the extent to which CSE is integrated into national education policies and curricula, which aligns with indicator 4.7.1.

4. Indicators for Target 10.2

   • The theme of “Equity through Action” and the focus on including “indigenous groups” and people in “LMICs” imply a need for disaggregated data. An implied indicator would be the measurement of access to and use of SRHR services, broken down by age, ethnicity, and geographic location, to ensure inequalities are being reduced.

5. Indicators for Target 17.16

   • The article describes numerous partnerships. An implied indicator is the number and effectiveness of multi-stakeholder partnerships (e.g., the FP Accelerator Project) dedicated to SRHR. The development and dissemination of “guidelines and tools” through these partnerships is another measurable output.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: who.int