Governments around the world, including Sri Lanka’s have agreed a range of commitments to advance sustainable development, called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs include including promoting women’s and girls’ health and protecting human rights for all. However, what is not understood by many is that family planning is an important, and in many ways a cross-cutting aspect of the targets around universal access to sexual and reproductive health found in the SDGs.

The SDGs make specific references to family planning in Goal 3 on Health and Goal 5 on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. This does not mean that only these goals are directly related to family planning. For instance, it will be impossible to end poverty and hunger (goals 1 and 2), ensure quality education for all (goal 4), and promote sustained economic growth (goal 8) without ensuring that everyone has access to quality, rights-based family planning services.

As such, a Media workshop to increase awareness on the relationship between Sustainable Development and Family Planning as part of the Vision 2020 campaign was held on the 22^nd of May 2017, at FPA Sri Lanka Headquarters.  As Sri Lanka is a FP2020 focus country and commitment maker, we are advocating to increase the political priority of family planning, as well as ensuring the two SDG targets are being fulfilled. The use of mass media to achieve these objectives is important. 

Topics explained and deliberated on were  “Population change, fertility and contraception” by Prof Indralal de Silva, Senior Professor of Demography , University of Colombo, “Current status of Family Planning and Sexual and Reproductive Health in Sri Lanka” by Dr Sanjeewa Godakanda, Consultant Community Physician and focal point for Family Planning Programme at Family Health Bureau and “The role of FPA Sri Lanka in providing universal access to Sexual and Reproductive Health” by Dr Harischandra Yakandawala, FPA Sri Lanka, Medical Director.

The workshop ended with an informative Q & A session that discussed our challenges in achieving universal access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). It was moderated by Ms Madu Dissanayake, Director Public Affairs, Policy and Advocacy, FPA Sri Lanka and panelists were Prof Indralal De Silva, Dr Sanjeeva Godakanda, Dr Esther Amerasekara ( FPA Sri Lanka, National Council, Hon. General Secretary) and Dr Harischandra Yakandawala. (FPA Sri Lanka Medical Director)