Togo committed to removing obstacles to family planning

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Extract from the article: The Director of the Ouagadougou Partnership Coordination Unit, Marie Ba, led a mission to Lomé on 24 and 25 April 2023 to assess the country's progress in family planning. At the end of the various meetings with the authorities, technical and financi

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The Director of the Ouagadougou Partnership Coordination Unit, Marie Ba, led a mission to Lomé on 24 and 25 April 2023 to assess the country's progress in family planning. At the end of the various meetings with the authorities, technical and financial partners, civil society and the media, she welcomed the renewed commitment of the country to strengthen actions in order to meet the 2030 target, where every Togolese will have equitable access to sexual and reproductive health and family planning services.

The director, reassured by the will of the executive, wants to involve young people in the development of programmes and projects. This is so that they are no longer relegated to being mere recipients of care and services. The wish of the Ouagadougou Partnership is to make young people actors of change who participate in decision-making and initiatives in their favour. « We welcome Togo's commitment to working in a multi-sectoral way to achieve the goals set for reproductive health and family planning », she said.

On the mobilisation of domestic resources for family planning, the Director also found favour with the Togolese authorities.  With the Ouagadougou and Amplify initiative, Togo has committed to increasing domestic funds for contraceptives and family planning by 10% each year. « It is a commitment that we have reiterated and that the government has assured to honour », underlines Marie Ba, who wishes to see the partners also increase their contributions.

Togo, with a rapidly growing population, an annual growth rate of 2.3% and a fertility rate of 4.3 children per woman, is struggling to achieve the objectives of its National Family Planning Action Plan 2017-2022. Contraceptive prevalence among women in union increased from 21.4% in 2017 to 26.3% in 2022, below projections.

Unmet need persists at 32.2% among married and union women, due to limited access to family planning services, stigma and religious cultural limitations. A bleak picture driven by relatively low levels of national and international investment, changing political landscapes and sometimes complex social environments. The country is working to find sustainable solutions to these issues.

Launched in 2011, the Ouagadougou Partnership brings together nine French-speaking countries in West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo) to accelerate progress in the use of family planning services in the region.

Elom AKAKPO