The International Conference on Family Planning 2018 takes place from November 12 to November 15 in Kigali, Rwanda. Rutgers is leading a number of side events at this conference. In this live blog we keep you up to date on all our activities.

In 2017, #MeToo shed light on gender-based violence (GBV) across the world. In the Prevention+ programme, Rutgers, together with partners Promundo and Sonke Gender Justice, work on preventing GBV by engaging men and boys. A year after #MeToo, Global Programme Manager, Ruth van Zorge reflects on how the movement has underlined the importance of this work and what the next steps should be.

Today is a day to draw global attention to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), which is our expertise! With 50 years of experience Rutgers is a leader in this field. Our researcher, Miranda van Reeuwijk explains the impact of our unique approach of combining research, advocacy and interventions - nationally and internationally.

Part of the Right Here Right Now strategic partnership, is that representatives of country platforms attend high-level, international events to advocate for better sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Solange Mbaye, the National Coordinator of the RHRN platform in Senegal, took part in the United Nation’s High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York. This event aims to follow up on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals and Solange was able to accompany the official Senegalese delegation to many side events.

People regularly ask what the training sessions of Rutgers entail, for example on Comprehensive Sexuality Education. Maeva Bonjour, technical advisor at Rutgers, shares first hand her experiences in training people from 2 partner organisations in Benin.

A young girl's experience as a child bride, illustrating the importance of maternal health and rights and the reality of many young girl's lives. This contribution is a result of our work in Amman, Jordan and is also featured in, and in support of, the What Women Want campaign.

What started out as an fundraising initiative that was founded by a Dutch minister, has grown into a global movement supported by 40.000 individuals and a thousand organizations. One year after SheDecides was launched, one of these organizations looks back on a very successful first year.

On 2 November we celebrated fifty years of Rutgers’ work in upholding the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all people, in the Netherlands and around the world. Rutgers’ 50th anniversary coincided with a global outcry against sexual violence, set off by the #MeToo campaign. As Rutgers revisited its work over the years, my thoughts brought me back to a meeting ten years ago. A meeting that imparted valuable lessons, and reshaped Rutgers’ strategies to end sexual violence.

One in three women is bound to experience violence at least once in her lifetime (WHO, 2013). That is equivalent to one billion women and girls! A statistic that is so overwhelming that we—as a collective—are committed to changing.

In countries where some forms of abortion are legal, access is still limited. This is the case in Kenya and Uganda where some health workers deny an abortion for fear of prosecution: to the detriment of girls’ and women’s health and lives. How to allay the fears of health workers to deliver to the reproductive needs of potential users are explained here.