Nusa Dua, Indonesia - Global leaders including Indonesian President Joko Widodo, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chair Melinda Gates are scheduled to highlight the need for global collaboration and local action to improve family planning access worldwide at the fourth International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP).

The 2015 ICFP will bring together thousands of global policymakers, experts, researchers, youth and advocates to Nusa Dua, Indonesia, November 9 - 12. The 2015 ICFP is co-hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the National Population and Family Planning Board of Indonesia (BKKBN). The conference is made possible through the ICFP Core Group — the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, the Packard Foundation, FP2020, UNFPA, USAID, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Marie Stopes International and the UN Foundation — as well as the International Steering Committee and National Steering Committee of the ICFP.

Organized around the theme “Global Commitments, Local Actions,” the 2015 ICFP will call attention to the wide-ranging benefits of helping people plan their fertility and their futures — which include improved maternal, newborn and child health; increased educational attainment; and greater household wealth. The conference will also highlight global and national efforts to ensure that access to contraceptive information and services remain a priority for policymakers, donors and the private sector. New commitments to family planning will be announced at the conference. Special activities will be launched for the first time, including the Global Humanitarian Awards for Women’s and Children’s Health and the Marketplace of Ideas.

Invited speakers include:

• His Excellency Joko Widodo, President, Indonesia (to be confirmed)
• His Excellency Dr. Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister of Finance, Indonesia
• Melinda French Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
• Her Excellency Puan Maharani, Coordinating Minister of Human Development and Culture, Indonesia (to be confirmed)
• His Excellency Dr. Kesetebirhan Admasu, Minister of Health, Ethiopia
• Her Excellency Dr. Awa Marie Coll-Seck, Minister of Health and Social Action, Senegal
• Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah Zeid, Jordan


“Expanding access to family planning is a global effort, but success ultimately depends on local action and the sustained commitment of national leaders,” says His Excellency Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia. “We recognize that family planning benefits the health of our communities as well as Indonesia’s economic development, and we are committed to revitalizing our programs to ensure services reach the women who need them most.”

Satisfying the global unmet need for family planning services could save an estimated one in four women from deaths related to pregnancy or childbirth and prevent 1.1 million infant deaths each year. The 2015 ICFP will serve as a platform for global partners to revisit their commitments to family planning and accelerate progress towards the FP2020 goal of expanding contraceptive access to an additional 120 million women by 2020.

“Ensuring that women and girls have access to the information and contraceptives they need to plan their families is one of the smartest investments we can make,” says Melinda Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “As a global community, we must follow through on our commitments to increase access to family planning, so that women and girls everywhere can unlock their full potential and live healthier, more productive lives.”

Each day of the 2015 ICFP will focus on a central theme. These include:

• 9 NOVEMBER
• Opening Ceremony (afternoon): Global leaders and heads of state will open the conference and present the inaugural Global Humanitarian Awards for Women’s and Children’s Health.
• 10 NOVEMBER
• Family Planning and the New Sustainable Development Goals (morning plenary): Ministers of Health and Finance from around the world will discuss the important links between family planning and the new global development agenda.
• Knowledge. Choices. Power. 2015 Quality Innovation Challenge (lunch plenary): The David and Lucile Packard Foundation will launch this challenge to search for creative ideas that empower women and girls without a voice.
• 11 NOVEMBER
• Youth: Challenging Old Assumptions, Forging a New Agenda (morning plenary): Speakers will address the importance of tailoring family planning programs for young people around the world.
• Pooling Strengths: Helping Effectively Together with Strong Partners (lunch plenary): Bayer HealthCare will chair this panel discussion about the power of collaboration and partnership in addressing pressing health care issues.
• 12 NOVEMBER
• Global Collaboration, Local Action: FP2020 (morning plenary): The final plenary of the conference will discuss global partnerships and actors, human rights and acceleration of progress toward 2020.
• Celebrating and Promoting New Goals in Development (afternoon): The closing ceremony will include the presentation of the Excellence in Leadership for Family Planning (EXCELL) Awards to family planning champions at the country, organization and individual levels.

Pre-conferences focused on the demographic dividend and the roles of youth and religious leaders in family planning will also be held November 7 - 9 in Nusa Dua, Indonesia.