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Innovation & Approach

Advocacy & Policy

Our global advocacy and policy efforts are essential to creating a world where everyone has access to the sexual and reproductive health and rights they need.

On International Day of the Girl Child 2021, Pathfinder Nigeria trained over 150 in-school students on how to use Advance Family Planning’s SMART Advocacy Approach to advocate for change. Photo: Rain Vedutti

Our global advocacy and policy efforts are essential to creating a world where everyone has access to the sexual and reproductive health and rights they need. From the US Supreme Court to the local governments in all the countries where we work, our advocacy initiatives remove barriers to sexual and reproductive health and rights, improving health and well-being for millions of people. 

Advocacy for Long-term Change 

Drawing on more than 65 years of experience inspiring policymakers and communities to put policies, laws, and funding in place to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) around the world, we work closely with local civil society organizations, governments, faith-based institutions, and the private sector to encourage equitable resource allocation, remove barriers to health care access, and create an enabling environment for sexual and reproductive health and rights. 

We identify key decision-makers, influencers, and advocates that have the power to impact change in each country where they operate and build deep relationships with them to facilitate long-term shifts in policy.  

Our Advocacy Goals

  • Increasing access to quality SRHR services: We believe that everyone should have access to the quality SRHR services they need, regardless of their income, location, or gender. We work to ensure that quality health care services are available, affordable, and accessible to everyone. 
  • Promoting the rights of women and girls:We believe that women and girls have the right to make informed decisions about their own bodies and their own lives. We work to promote these rights through advocacy, education, and programming to encourage long-term shifts in policy. 
  • Strengthening the SRHR movement: We believe that we can achieve more when we work together. We work to strengthen the SRHR movement by building deep relationships with key decision-makers, influencers, and other organizations and by supporting the work of local advocates. 

We’re at the forefront of creating the social, political, economic, and judicial systems and policies that allow for the delivery of effective, rights-based, and client-centered health services.

What We Do

  • Use the evidence-based SMART approach, research, data, and our programmatic expertise to advocate with governments and civil society for policies that support sexual and reproductive health and rights. 
  • Support communities as they advocate for supportive policies that address their unique sexual and reproductive health care needs. 
  • Engage key stakeholders in governments and communities to dedicate increased funds for sexual and reproductive health where the need is greatest. 
  • Raise our voices to inform, influence, and advance global efforts to ensure all people have the right to make their own decisions about their bodies and their future. 
  • Bring together global experts, government officials, and health providers to share knowledge and find solutions that promote sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide. 
Countries using this approach
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On International Day of the Girl Child 2021, Pathfinder Nigeria trained over 150 in-school students on how to use Advance Family Planning’s SMART Advocacy Approach to advocate for change. Photo: Rain Vedutti
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