Rights-Based Family Planning: 15 Resources to Guide Programming

Noting the availability of an abundance of resources on rights-based programming for family planning (FP), which vary in purpose, structure, scope, and detail, the Evidence Project compiled this overview of key publications to enable potential users to make an informed determination of what to apply to best meet their needs. The paper annotates 15 documents put forth by various organisations, providing a description of each resource based on text drawn from the documents itself. The resources include: human rights elements; principles and related recommended actions; comprehensive programming frameworks; how-to operational guidance; and tools that support rights-based FP programmes.

Prior to a presentation of the selected resources, which were published since 2010, the Evidence Project explains that, "[w]hile [human] rights and related principles are recognized by the international community and are increasingly a part of the discourse in family planning circles, a gap persists between the rhetoric of human rights and integrating these rights into family planning programming in actual practice." There is much talk about achieving universal access to high quality contraceptive information and services, and protecting clients' right to make full, free and informed contraceptive choices from among a range of options, but governments and programs still struggle with what a rights-based approach to family planning entails and how to operationalize it."

It is in this context that the following publications have been produced - and are the subject of this document:

1. FP2020 Rights and Empowerment Principles for Family Planning - FP2020, 2014
2. Ensuring Human Rights in the Provision of Contraceptive Information and Services - WHO, 2014
3. Ensuring Human Rights Within Contraceptive Service Delivery: Implementation Guide - WHO and UNFPA, 2015
4. Quality of Care in Contraceptive Information and Services, Based on Human Rights Standards: A Checklist for Health Care Providers - WHO, 2017
5. Quality of Care in the Context of Rights-based Family Planning - Population Council, 2017
6. Monitoring Human Rights in Contraceptive Services and Programmes - WHO, 2017
7. Defining Quality in Contraceptive Counseling - Harvard and UCSF, 2017
8. How Does Quality of Care Relate to a Rights-based Approach to Family Planning? - Population Council, 2015
9. Voluntary Family Planning Programs that Respect, Protect, and Fulfill Human Rights: A Conceptual Framework - Futures Group and EngenderHealth, 2013
10. Voluntary Family Planning Programs that Respect, Protect, and Fulfill Human Rights: Conceptual Framework Users' Guide - Futures Group and EngenderHealth, 2014
11. Checkpoints for Choice: An Orientation and Resource Package - EngenderHealth/The RESPOND Project, 2014
12. A Human Rights-Based Approach to Programming: Practical Implementation Manual and Training Materials - UNFPA with the Harvard School of Public Health, 2010
13. The Right to Contraceptive Information and Services for Women and Adolescents: Briefing Paper - Center for Reproductive Rights and UNFPA, 2010
14. Voluntary Family Planning Programs that Respect, Protect, and Fulfill Human Rights: A Systematic Review of Tools - Futures Group and EngenderHealth, 2013
15. Reproductive Rights are Human Rights: A Handbook for National Human Rights Institutions - UNFPA, Danish Institute for Human Rights, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2014