The fourth International Conference on Family Planning took place in Nusa Dua, Indonesia, 25-28 January 2016. Co-hosted by the Gates Institute and the National Population and Family Planning Board of Indonesia (BKKBN), the conference drew several thousand researchers, program implementers, policymakers, advocates, youth leaders, media, and representatives of local and international organizations. More than 2,200 individual scientific abstracts and preformed panels were submitted for consideration—the largest number in conference history.

Great progress has been made since the inaugural ICFP in Kampala, Uganda, in 2009, which urged the family planning community to scale up best practices with effective programs and policy changes. Two years later, the 2011 ICFP convened the family planning field in Dakar, Senegal, to focus on improving family planning services in Francophone Africa. Following the successful launch of Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) during the 2012 London Summit on Family Planning, the 2013 ICFP brought together more than 3,400 people in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to celebrate progress made toward achieving “Full Access, Full Choice.”

The 2016 ICFP was held in Indonesia, a leader in innovative family planning programming. In addition to the robust schedule of plenaries and sessions, the conference included special opportunities for attendees to engage with each other and with the field of family planning, including:

• The Marketplace of Ideas: Onstage in the exhibit hall, participants had 15 minutes to share an innovation designed to spark conversation and collaboration.
• Roundtables: Topical Roundtables were devoted to particular topics or issues in family planning. CEO Roundtables provided youth and mid-career professionals the opportunity can share a meal and conversation with leaders of prominent family planning organization.
• Auxiliary Events: A number of auxiliary events were held both on-site at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center and off-site at area hotels and venues.
• Family Planning Voices (FP Voices): This year-long storytelling project of K4Health and FP2020 aims to capture the diverse voices of people working in family planning around the world. Interviews were held on-site during the conference. The FP Voices storytelling/photo booth, one of the ICFP’s most popular features, further engaged attendees; it was sponsored by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Outstanding achievements in the field were also recognized by the EXCELL Awards and the inaugural Global Humanitarian Awards for Women’s and Children’s Health, which recognize individuals who, with great vision and leadership, have invested private wealth to advance reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health, especially family planning, at the country and global level.

To learn more about the ICFP, please visit the conference website.

Source: http://gatesinstitute.org/