Each year, Ouagadougou Partnership donors and partners from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; USAID; the development agencies of France, Canada, and the Netherlands; the United Nations (UNFPA); and other institutions join together to visits partners and Ministries of Health in Francophone West Africa to learn more about the Partnership’s progress in the region. This year, nearly 50 people participated in this caravan, including donors, technical partners, civil society organizations, and government representatives.
Since its inception in 2011, the Partnership’s progress has been unprecedented, helping increase the number of users of modern contraceptive methods in the region by 2.8 million women and girls, nearly doubling the “modern contraceptive prevalence rate” in less than a decade.
The annual donor caravan not only provides donors and partners the opportunity to see the Ouagadougou Partnership in action – in real time, on the ground – but also provides a unique opportunity for the group to strengthen its bond, helping the Partnership continue to grow and scale its impact across Francophone West Africa.
Follow along on this year’s three-country tour by clicking on the images below and scrolling through the gallery. All photos graciously provided by the Ouagadougou Partnership.
-
- Committed midwives in Dakar
-
- A crowded clinic in Dakar
-
- A debriefing meeting with Ministry of Health staff
-
- A “contraceptive kit” in an urban clinic
-
- Members of the caravan and the Senegalese Parliament in front of the National Assembly
-
- University students employed by Marie Stopes to run an on-campus family planning clinic
-
- Midwives and nurses plan for the coming weeks
-
- The Nouakchott “patronat” (analogous to a Chamber of Commerce) meets with the caravan to see how it may support family planning
-
- The caravan visits a planning supply warehouse in Nouakchott
-
- Preparing for the very last meeting of this year’s caravan in Nouakchott
-
- Outside of a reproductive health clinic in Conakry
