Twenty-eight health professionals from across the Caribbean completed a two-day training programme held from May 22-23 in Grenada aimed at strengthening their capacity to deliver high quality family planning programmes to the people of the region. The training was organized by the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) in collaboration with UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. It formed part of the ongoing support the UN provides to governments to build national capacity in various areas including the delivery of sexual and reproductive health services. The organizers shared updates and resources on sexual and reproductive health including contraceptive technology, maternal health, HIV and the latest WHO family planning guidelines. Facilitators also explored with participants, options for further technical cooperation among countries and the UN.
As we approach the twenty year anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the evidence indicates that despite significant gains, too many individuals still lack the power to make decisions about their family size and the timing of their pregnancies. Caribbean countries continue to record high rates of unmet need for family planning averaging eighteen per cent in 2011. In addition, the region remains challenged by high rates of teenage pregnancy, which now stands at around 20 per cent.
Strengthening the capacity of health care providers to deliver family planning services using the rights-based approach is one step toward realizing universal access to sexual and reproductive health and securing a central place for family planning in the post 2015 development agenda.
