Building Local Ownership for Sustainable Family Planning
Participants attending the launch of the Dakar Centre District AMCG Action Plan, funded by Woodside Energy, in Dakar, Senegal
Sustaining family planning programs requires more than implementing activities – it requires empowering local leaders to champion reproductive health priorities and mobilize their own resources. TCI 's Francophone West Africa (FWA) hub supported the establishment of City Advocacy and Monitoring Core Groups (AMCGs) to bring together municipal leaders, health officials, civil society, community representatives, and religious leaders to institutionalize family planning and strengthen local ownership.
When Local Advocacy Creates Sustainable Solutions
In Dakar Centre District, the AMCG transformed strategic coaching into concrete action. Recognizing the need for sustainable financing, the group strengthened its advocacy skills, built relationships with local partners, and initiated structured dialogue with the private sector. Their efforts resulted in the mobilization of nearly USD $10,000 from Woodside Energy Senegal through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program to fully finance the district's quarterly family planning workplan.
Ousseynou Diakhate, the Director of Institutional Affairs at Woodside Energy Senegal said:
At Woodside, we believe that local partnerships are essential to sustainably strengthening community health services. The initiative led by the Dakar Centre District demonstrates how local advocacy, combined with the collective engagement of community, government, and private sector stakeholders, can improve access to quality health services. We are proud to support an approach that is aligned with district priorities and delivers lasting benefits for women, young people, and the communities they serve.
The funding will support community outreach, social mobilization, home visits, community monitoring, free Family Planning Service Days, maternal kits for vulnerable women, cervical cancer screening, and HPV prevention services, including vaccination, for girls aged 9–14 years.
A Model for Sustainability Beyond External Funding
The partnership was officially launched during a ceremony attended by local authorities, community leaders, Woodside Energy, district health teams, and TCI 's FWA team. During the event, TCI was recognized as the catalyst behind this achievement through its coaching approach, continuous technical assistance, and long-term investment in strengthening local advocacy capacity.
This success demonstrates that effective advocacy is not simply about influencing decisions – it is about equipping local actors to build strategic partnerships and mobilize domestic resources that ensure the continuity of essential health services.
As external funding becomes increasingly limited, the Dakar Centre experience offers an inspiring model for all TCI cities. It shows that when local leadership is empowered with the right coaching, tools, and partnerships, communities themselves can secure sustainable financing and drive lasting improvements in reproductive health. The president of the AMCG in Dakar City District said:
The power of partnership for maternal and child health is what guided our advocacy efforts. Through our Advocacy and Monitoring Core Group (AMCG)) action plan, we were able to demonstrate the value of local leadership and collective action, which helped us engage Woodside Energy in a win-win partnership aligned with the ‘Hand in Hand for a Healthy Future for Mothers and Children’ strategy. This experience showed us that strong local advocacy, resource mobilization, and collaboration with partners can make our district health system stronger and bring greater benefits to the communities we serve.
