RAPO Closing 2025: increase budget lines for family planning

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Extract from the article: The sober but highly symbolic closing ceremony was marked by recognitions, strong recommendations and clear calls for collective action. It was chaired by Dr. Wotobé Kokou, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health.

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The sober but highly symbolic closing ceremony was marked by recognitions, strong recommendations and clear calls for collective action. It was chaired by Dr. Wotobé Kokou, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health.

The discussions made it possible to identify concrete levers, notably the securing of national budget lines, the integration of DSSR into universal health coverage, the increased involvement of local authorities, the mobilization of the private sector and strengthening accountability.

Recommendations from the 2025 RAPO

The synthesis of the work of the RAPO 2025 highlighted a series of strong recommendations, called to mark a decisive turning point towards genuine health sovereignty for the countries of the Ouagadougou Partnership. The participants unanimously stressed the need to create and sustainably increase budget lines dedicated to family planning at the national level, in order to reduce dependence on external funding. This dynamic must be accompanied by an expansion of funding sources, increasing the participation of the private sector, local authorities and actors outside the health sector, in a logic of shared responsibilities and financial sustainability.  

The session also recommended the adoption of financial innovations, including mechanisms such as impact bonds and other tools adapted to national contexts, capable of mobilizing new resources and attracting sustainable investments. To support these reforms, high-level advocacy must be conducted in each country to strengthen political and social mobilization around rights and sexual and reproductive health. Strengthening accountability mechanisms has been identified as a key lever to improve transparency, efficiency of public spending and increased domestic resource mobilization.

Furthermore, the RAPO 2025 insisted on the importance of consolidating the positioning of the DSSR in national priorities, while improving performance in budget execution, so that commitments are translated into concrete and equitable services for the populations. Participants also recognized youth as a major demographic asset, calling for the strengthening of existing mechanisms to better meet their specific needs. Finally, the continuous integration of minority needs into SRHR policies and programmes, as well as their effective participation in decision-making processes, was reaffirmed as an indispensable condition to leave no one behind and ensure sustainable and inclusive progress

The voice of young people and religious communities

In her speech, Ms. Dorcas Essilvi, PO/FP2030 Youth Focal Point for Togo, recalled that the sustainability of commitments inevitably requires a real involvement of young people, not only as beneficiaries, but as actors of change. She stressed the need for inclusive funding mechanisms, sensitive to the needs of adolescents and young people, especially girls.

For his part, Prof Bouraima Boukari, President of the Association of Religious Confessions of Togo in Health and Development, emphasized the strategic role of religious leaders in the promotion of sexual and reproductive health. He advocated for a permanent dialogue between decision-makers, communities and religious denominations to overcome socio-cultural resistance and promote sustainable community ownership of family planning programs.

A clear course for the future

At the end of the work of RAPO 2025, Lomé establishes itself as a space of truth, political courage and shared responsibility. More than an annual meeting, this edition will have laid the foundation for a new phase of the Ouagadougou Partnership, one where commitments are measured in terms of resources mobilized, results achieved and real impact on the lives of women, girls and communities. The RAPO 2025 is closing, but the process of health sovereignty has only just begun.

For Marie Ba, Director of the Ouagadougou Partnership Coordination Unit, praised the collective courage of the participants in facing current challenges. "In a context of shrinking international funding, we have chosen not to give into discouragement, but to open a lucid and ambitious debate on the future of SRHR funding in our countries," she said.

According to the Director of UCPO, the message from Lomé is unequivocal. "The sustainability of our progress will require strengthened national ownership and a resolute acceleration of domestic financing. Reproductive health is not a luxury but a pillar of development, gender equality and the stability of our societies," she said.

For Dr. Wotobé Kokou, Secretary-General representing the Minister of Health, Public Hygiene, Universal Health Coverage and Insurance, emphasized the strategic scope of the exchanges held in Lomé. "The panels highlighted a shared conviction. Health sovereignty begins with an endogenous, strong and assumed financial commitment." , he emphasized.

Some countries not members of the Ouagadougou Partnership (Madagascar, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Burundi), participated in this RAPO 2025.

Raymond DZAKPATA