(KPL) The Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion (DHHP) of the Ministry of Health today opened a three-day SMART Advocacy workshop aimed at developing concrete policy and financing strategies to improve access to voluntary, rights-based family planning in the Lao PDR.

Supported by the FP2030 Asia & Pacific Hub, UNFPA Asia-Pacific, and UNFPA Lao PDR, the workshop brings together technical staff and focal points from DHHP, the Center for Mother and Child Health, other Ministry departments, line ministries, UN agencies, and civil society organizations, including the Promotion of Family Health Association. The goal: align advocacy efforts and accelerate progress toward national family planning objectives.

“Family planning saves lives and expands choices,” said Dr. Phonepraseuth Sayamoungkhoun, Director-General of DHHP, at the opening session. “Through SMART Advocacy, we’ll translate evidence into targeted, near-term actions—securing predictable budgets, preventing stock-outs, and improving youth-friendly services—so that every pregnancy is by choice and every childbirth is safe.”

The workshop applies the SMART Advocacy model, a structured nine-step process grouped into three phases—building consensus, focusing efforts, and achieving change. This proven approach helps coalitions secure short-term policy and funding wins that support broader, long-term goals.

According to Mr. Dakshitha Wickremarathne, FP2030 Asia and Pacific Senior Technical Lead for Advocacy and Partnerships, the SMART Advocacy framework “provides a systematic method for achieving near-term objectives that drive long-term success.”

The workshop is grounded in Lao PDR’s FP2030 commitments, which aim to build adolescent- and youth-responsive systems, reduce unmet need for family planning among 15–24-year-olds from 31.1% (LSIS II) to 12% by 2030, achieve contraceptive and reproductive health (RH) commodity security with zero stock-outs, raising availability from 53% to 100% and increase domestic funding to ensure commodities reach all levels of the health system.

New data from LSIS III (2023) highlights the urgency: the adolescent birth rate stands at 89 births per 1,000 girls aged 15–19, with wide disparities across regions and ethnic groups. Reducing adolescent pregnancy is critical to meeting national health, education, and gender equality targets.

“Demand for modern contraception is rising, but access gaps remain—especially for adolescents and youth,” said Ms. Siriphone Sakulku, UNFPA Lao PDR Programme Coordinator for Sexual and Reproductive Health. “This workshop helps unify government and civil society around targeted advocacy priorities to unlock resources, eliminate bottlenecks, and ensure youth-friendly services become the norm nationwide.”

Over the three days, participants will assess the current family planning landscape, draw lessons from domestic resource mobilization, and engage in practical group work to define SMART objectives, identify key decision-makers, set roles and timelines, and develop a simple monitoring plan to track progress toward FP2030 goals.

KPL