Health leaders from sub-Saharan Africa gather for three-day conference on family planning in Kenya

A three-day conference exploring ways to increase access to family planning services in Africa kicked off in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday, Capital FM reports. The meeting, which is hosted by USAID, will bring together "USAID's partners in sub-Saharan Africa who include Angola, Burundi, [Democratic Republic of Congo], Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan and Tanzania," to work to identify gaps in reproductive and family planning services and address ways to reach out to populations in need, the news service writes (Karong'o, 5/11).

The conference will also examine the outcome of a USAID-funded Extending Service Delivery (ESD) project which aimed to expand family planning services in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a USAID announcement.  

"Meeting participants will discuss each country program's unique approaches and practices that bring reproductive health and family planning (RH/FP) services and information about healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy to underserved and vulnerable populations," the announcement notes. Conference participants will also examine how ESD programs "have contributed to regional efforts to reach Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5," USAID writes (undated).

ESD Project Director Milka Dinev said, "Family planning is a life saving intervention that reduces enormously maternal mortality and infant mortality in our programmes. We will exchange knowledge, models and tools and we will try to have all of the participating countries continue the work that has been started and developed during the five years of ESD," according to Capital FM (5/11).