Engaging Faith-Based Organizations in Family Planning Advocacy

Faith-based organizations (FBOs) and faith institutions are often perceived as not supporting family planning (FP). However, FBOs have publicly shown support for FP for some time. In 2011, more than 200 religious institutions and FBOs endorsed the Interfaith Declaration to Improve Family Health and Wellbeing. More recently, studies show that these institutions play a vital role in health care service delivery, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. There, the private sector delivers about 50% of health care services and FP messages. As private-sector entities, FBOs and religious leaders can encourage people to use contraceptive methods.

Engaging Community

“Faith communities are concerned about enhancing life. We know that the challenges related to prenatal care and antenatal care are so severe on the babies and also their mothers. So our interest here is to ensure that we take care of the well-being of the mother, especially through things like child spacing,” said Reverend Canon Grace Kaiso, of Uganda, during a community panel conducted during the March 2021 International Conference on Family Planning Not Without FP Forum.

Awareness of the importance of engaging faith-based organizations and religious leaders in closing the gap in meeting individuals’ health care needs is increasing. Nigeria’s Family Planning Blueprint 2020–2024 recognizes the need to partner and collaborate with religious leaders and faith-based organizations as a key strategy in meeting FP needs.

Assessing the FP Landscape

A recent Global Health: Science and Practice (GHSP) article supports the importance of engaging faith-based organizations and religious leaders in meeting individuals’ FP needs.

The article authors note that “FBOs are interested in expanding access to FP and increasing service delivery, yet governments, donors, and nongovernmental organizations give low priority to FBOs for financial, training, and commodity support of FP, resulting in a lack of services for underserved populations. When public facilities face stock-outs, commodities are less likely to flow to FBOs.”

The authors describe a project in which The Christian Connections for Health partnered with the Christian Health Association of Kenya and Churches Health Association of Zambia to build capacity among FBOs and religious leaders to advocate for FP. The project involved:

• Increasing support and awareness for FP.
• Training in technical information on FP.
• Training in advocacy strategies.
• Developing FP language that aligned with religious beliefs and values.

At the beginning of the project, a survey was conducted to assess the FP environment and identify gaps to be addressed through advocacy efforts. The survey found that barriers include stock-outs of supplies, lack of staff training, and lack of awareness about FP among the community.

Advocacy Results

The project saw some success, notably in:

• Increasing public support at the county level (Kenya) and national level (Zambia).
• Gaining commitment to increase funding at the county level (Kenya) and national level (Zambia).
• Having less stock-outs of FP commodities at faith-based health care facilities (Kenya).

The authors write, “Although attributing advocacy results to a specific initiative is challenging, the project saw shifts in the attitude and policy decisions of the MOHs in both countries that were linked with advocacy by religious leader advocates and the involvement of CHAK and CHAZ in working groups.”

More work is needed to change the negative perceptions around FP support among faith-based organizations. Increased awareness and support for FP among religious leaders and institutions is vital. In particular, FBOs must ensure that FP messages use language that aligns with the beliefs and values of the faith and its texts.

For more information on these findings, read the full article in GHSP.