Malawi to launch family planning country commitments

Government of Malawi will on Thursday, June 01, launch the Malawi FP2030 Commitment, a global movement geared at advancing people’s rights to safely access reproductive health services on their own terms.

Speaking on Monday at a press briefing in Lilongwe, Chief Reproductive Health Officer in the Ministry of Health, Mary Phiri, said that Malawi’s goal is to increase the percentage of all women using contraceptives from 2020’s baseline of 49% to 60% by 2030.

Phiri added that at the launch, Malawi will join 31 other countries that have pledged to take specific actions to expand access to voluntary, rights-based contraception.

Taking her turn, Youth and Adolescent Technical Adviser for Palladium, Comfort Chizinga, bemoaned conflicting policies on access to contraceptives by young people, observing this as a challenge that needs to be looked into.

Chizinga, who is also Malawi FP2030 Youth Focal Point, further said that myths and misconceptions play a big role when it comes to the youths preferences on contraceptives.

In an interview with the media, Plan International Malawi Country Director, Phoebe Kasoga, who was also speaking at the briefing, emphasized on providing appropriate information to the youths, saying this is critical in as far as reproductive health rights are concerned.

More than 200 participants from government, development partners, civil society and academia are expected at the launch to be presided over by Minister of Health Khumbize Chiponda at Sunbird Capital in Lilongwe.