Family Planning Advocacy Through Religious Leaders: A Guide for Faith Communities

This document guides the efforts of faith-based organisations (FBOs) to equip and encourage religious leaders to advocate for family planning (FP) with their governments, the media, and their own congregations and communities. It was inspired by FP advocacy with religious leaders carried out by Christian Connections for International Health (CCIH), the Christian Health Association of Kenya (CHAK), the Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ), and the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network (EPN).

CCIH notes that the role FBOs can play in promoting FP - also called healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies (HTSP) - for the purpose of creating and maintaining healthy families is increasingly being recognised, as evidenced in the 2016 International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP)'s holding of the first-ever inter-faith ICFP Faith and Family Planning pre-conference. "In addition to FBOs, religious leaders continue to be highly trusted figures who reach large, rural catchments away from well-stocked urban hospitals. Their political, social and cultural influence make them strong potential partners to address unmet FP needs....Likewise, as demand for family planning increases, religious leaders are expressing increased interest in family planning and how they can support their communities through trained points of contact and referrals in their communities."

The resource provides a step-by-step process on how to set up and conduct religious leader advocacy trainings, which are typically 2- to 3-day events that include the following components: a technical review of FP policies on an international, national, and local (if needed) levels; a review of FP from a faith perspective (e.g., the Biblical basis for FP); a review of each FP method including some common misconceptions about the methods, with time for discussion; and time for attendees to talk in small groups and synthesise information and to decide how to engage government officials and the media on FP issues. Text boxes with case examples and quick reference links are among the tools provided to help illustrate the process, which also involves establishing monitoring and evaluation systems. Contents include:

• Key Phrases & Acronyms: What Buzz Words Should I Know?
• Introduction: Why Create This Guide?
• Activities Timeline: How Long Will This Take?
• Landscape Assessment: What Do You Need to Know?
• Advocacy Plan: What Do You Want to Change?
• Trainings & Advocacy: How Do Religious Leaders Become FP Advocates?
• Tapping into the Global Community: Who Else Is Doing FP Advocacy?
• Monitoring & Evaluation: Is This Working?
• Common Challenges: How Do You Address Potential Problems?