AFIDEP

Gender-responsive budgeting ensures public resources reflect women’s needs and realities. When policies are informed by evidence, access to health and reproductive services improves significantly. AFIDEP’s work on strengthening adolescent and women’s SRHR highlights the importance of aligning data with policy decisions. Read More: afidep.org/empowering-ado… Evidence must work for women. #EvidenceInAction #GenderEquality #EvidenceForHerPower

💫One year of progress. See how the Financing Accelerator Network for NCDs (FAN) advanced health financing for noncommunicable diseases in its first full year of implementation. 👉Read the FAN Annual Report. ncdfinancing.org/news/fans-firs… @Afidep @results4dev @iecsarg @WBG_Health

Ahead of World TB Day 2026, @LIGHTonTB in Kenya, the African Institute for Development Policy (@Afidep ) & the Respiratory Society of Kenya (@ReSoKenya) in collaboration with Kenya’s Ministry of Health's @NTLDKenya are hosting a Kenya National Stakeholders' Dissemination Forum.

Millions of women in sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to modern contraceptive methods and the services they need to make informed choices about family planning. This “unmet need” remains high, with roughly 1 in 4 married women (about 24–26%) in the region unable to access essential family planning support. Expanding access is not only a health priority — it is a smart investment in stronger families, communities, and economies. Read more: afidep.org/afidep-at-2022… #UnmetNeed #FamilyPlanning #GivetoGain

When societies invest in women’s health, rights, and opportunities, everyone gains. At AFIDEP, we work to ensure that evidence informs the policies and investments that advance the wellbeing of women and girls across Africa. #GiveToGain #GenderEquality #EvidenceForPolicy

📣 New Blog Alert! On this #InternationalWomensDay, @Afidep's Women Economic Empowerment project team joins the world to commemorate. For Kenya and other African countries navigating fiscally constrained environments, one policy insight is clear - unlocking women's productivity is one of the most cost-effective strategies for economic growth. Yet women make up more than half of Africa's population but generate only about one-third of its economic output — a gap rooted in persistent structural inequalities. AFIDEP works with governments and partners to turn evidence into inclusive economic policy that changes this reality. 👉 Read the full blog: bit.ly/4rjfLlq #InternationalWomensDay #GiveToGain #WomensEconomicEmpowerment

Understanding the perspectives that shape contraceptive use is critical for designing youth-friendly, culturally responsive family planning programmes. Our study on religion and contraceptive decision-making highlights how faith influences access, acceptability, and choices among young women. Read more bit.ly/4aC5mw0

Far beyond its direct health benefits, family planning is a smart economic investment. The African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP)’s evidence shows that when governments invest in family planning: - girls stay in school longer, - women are more likely to participate in paid work, and -households experience greater wellbeing and financial stability. This infographic illustrates the case for investment in family planning. Check it out: bit.ly/4aC4Yxy

AFIDEP celebrates Dr Mohamed Sheikh (@DrAbeySheikh) for his outstanding leadership and service as Director General of the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD). Over the years, we have worked closely together to advance evidence-informed population policies, strengthen #reproductive health programming, and champion #gender equity and inclusion in Kenya and across the region. This shared commitment to evidence-driven development has been central to our partnership. AFIDEP wishes you every success in your next chapter. @NCPD_Kenya @KeTreasury

New evidence challenges how we measure family planning use. The African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP)’s TEAM-UP project study, conducted across DR Congo, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, shows that traditional contraceptive methods are often underreported in national surveys not necessarily because women are not using them, but because how we ask the questions shapes the answers. By improving probing and follow-up questions, reported use of both modern and traditional methods increased significantly. Learn more: bit.ly/4aVNhry

What should governments prioritise first to protect communities from climate-related health risks?

#Nigeria has a population of over 220 million people, with more than half under the age of 25. This presents a significant opportunity for growth, yet youth #unemployment and #underemployment remain persistently high. Our recent dialogues, in collaboration with @capyeikenya, highlight the need to strengthen accountability, and place young people at the centre of shaping the future of work. Read our latest blog for insights and key takeaways: shorturl.at/pw943 #YouthFutures #YouthEmployment #GigEconomy

It’s Day 2 at #NEAPACOH2026 Today, AFIDEP’s Dr Brenda Mungai, Research and Uptake Lead at the LIGHT Consortium, will present on “Optimising gendered interventions to accelerate the End TB Campaign in Africa: Lessons from the LIGHT Consortium.” Tuberculosis remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases globally, and gender dynamics continue to shape access to diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes. Ending TB in Africa requires more than biomedical solutions; it demands gender-responsive policies, targeted interventions, and stronger parliamentary oversight. Dr Mungai will share evidence on how gendered approaches can accelerate progress toward ending TB across the continent. #NEAPACOH2026 #LIGHTonTB

During his presentation on "Beyond Aid: Financing Universal Health Coverage in Africa amid Declining ODA, Fiscal Constraints, and the Rise of PPPs and Philanthropic Partnerships" at #NEAPACOH2026, AFIDEP's Dr JAckson Otieno emphasised that Africa’s universal health coverage future will be shaped less by declining aid and more by domestic commitments. Citing evidence, he showed that increasing pooled public financing, even by 1% of GDP, can significantly reduce catastrophic health spending and strengthen financial protection. He therefore called on MPs to protect and increase health allocations, strengthen oversight, and champion health as an investment in economic security rather than a cost. #NEAPACOH2026

At #NEAPACOH2026 Dr Nurudeen Alhassan highlighted a critical but often overlooked link: ignoring Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in climate and health integration risks undermining Universal Health Coverage. Climate shocks, floods, droughts, and displacement disrupt maternal care, contraception access, and adolescent health services first. Building climate-resilient health systems, therefore, requires parliamentarians to place SRHR at the center of preparedness, not at the margins. Dr Alhassan urged African governments to integrate health within climate frameworks through stronger governance and sustainable financing. Through the Leveraging Regional Platforms and Advocates to Enhance SRHR Services and Outcomes in Africa programme, AFIDEP is supporting this agenda by strengthening advocacy networks, generating evidence on the climate–SRHR nexus, and working with regional and national actors to improve adolescent and youth SRHR policy and investment across countries. #NEAPACOH2026 Learn more about the project: bit.ly/4tVdjE6

In his opening remarks at the 17th Network of African Parliamentary Committees on Health (NEAPACOH) meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, Dr @EliyaZulu, AFIDEP’s Executive Director, acknowledged that this year’s meeting comes at a critical time for Africa’s development, highlighting the changes in the funding landscape, rapid population growth, climate change, and economic shocks that are putting pressure on Africa’s underfunded health system. He therefore called for greater efforts to make the case that investing in health is investing in development, to persuade finance ministers to increase budget allocations to health. Dr Zulu called on African countries to set their own health financing priorities to increase funding for health and to exert similar efforts to ensure efficiency and harness more Health from the limited resources. Dr Zulu further urged the parliamentarians to exercise their oversight role diligently to ensure that health funding is allocated to both curative and preventive primary Health care to l maximise returns on investment. #NEAPACOH2026 Read more about our work: bit.ly/4aRzx15

Health and climate are deeply connected. As countries strengthen their climate action plans, integrating health considerations ensures we protect lives, livelihoods, and health systems — not just ecosystems. It’s not just climate policy. It’s public health policy too. Read more: bit.ly/46TwIve #ClimateAndHealth #EvidenceMatters #ResilientSystems #PublicHealthAfrica

Happening now: LIGHT TB Project review meeting taking stock of achievements, assessing progress against objectives, and sharpening focus for the next phase of implementation. @brucekirenga @winterzie @Jackynakabira @LIGHTonTB @FCDOGovUK #MLIat10