ICFP Communications Subcommittee
This community is dedicated to improving access to family planning products, services, and information through the power of advocacy, communications, and media.
FAQ
What Do You Do?
The ICFP 2025 Communications Subcommittee works closely with the ICFP communications team to promote the ICFP community, movement, and platform. The subcommittee supports strategic outreach around the ICFP conference, helping amplify key messages, drive engagement, and elevate the full range of ICFP 2025 offerings year-round.
ICFP is putting into action the vision set forth at its inception: to become a community-driven platform.
As ICFP (and the world) moves towards the production of more virtual and hybrid events, we have taken this opportunity to think creatively about ways to engage and bridge our non-traditional audiences, media, and press.
Who is Involved?
ICFP is fortunate enough to have the support and expertise of a wide range of leaders, advocates, young people, and artists to keep family planning at the center of the conversation on health and rights.
This year, ICFP refined its approach to engaging with high-profile figures across the global family planning community and the global health community as a whole. Through coordination with existing partners and a comprehensive landscape assessment of the family planning field, ICFP curated a detailed list of influencers to connect with on key family planning messaging.
Contact
For more information about the ICFP 2025 Communications Subcommittee, please contact ICFP 2025 Communications Co-Chair Christina Cherel at ccherel@jhu.edu.
For more information, please contact the ICFP Secretariat at info@theicfp.org.
About This Subcommittee
Advocacy Communications, Digital Media, and Media Advocacy from the Global FP Community
Communications, digital media, and content creation are core pillars across the ICFP community. The ICFP 2025 Communications Subcommittee works with communications professionals from NGOs, multilaterals, donor agencies, research institutes, and community and youth-led organizations. Together, we are mainstreaming family planning communications for research, programs, and advocacy at every level of partnerships from locally-led programs to national ministries of health.
Join the journey towards ICFP 2025 as we accelerate access to improving family planning products, services, and information for all.
Media Updates
FPNN at HIVR4P: Amplifying Global Voices in HIV Research and Family Planning
ICFP Media Fellow Nthanda Manduwi Hosts Conversation with the President of the Union for African Population Studies
FPNN Uncovers Stories at APC and Beyond: Transformative Discussions Shaping the Future of Family Planning
ICFP 2025
Communications Subcommittee Recap
The ICFP Communications Subcommittee served as the strategic amplification engine for ICFP 2025, ensuring key initiatives reached diverse audiences before, during, and after the conference. In a landscape where communications capacity is shrinking, the subcommittee demonstrated how coordinated communications infrastructure strengthens the entire SRHR movement’s ability to build unified narratives, while countering anti-rights movements and mis/disinformation.
Major Events, Activities, and Impact
Media Pre-Conference & FPNN Media Lab
Ahead of ICFP 2025, the Communications Subcommittee hosted a global media pre-conference, convening journalists and content creators to explore emerging priorities in SRHR.
Participants were trained in Solutions Journalism—an approach to reporting that focuses on credible, evidence-based responses to challenges, highlighting what’s working, why it works, and where gaps remain. This equips media to move beyond problem-focused narratives toward more constructive, impactful storytelling.
The pre-conference also included editorial roundtables with journalists and community leaders, sparking dialogue on key issues and strengthening collaboration between SRHR organizations and media partners.
Building on this foundation, the Family Planning News Network (FPNN) Media Lab—active before and throughout the conference—provided a space for collaboration and innovation. Over five days, journalists engaged in briefings, narrative testing, and skills-building, strengthening networks and advancing impactful, solutions-focused storytelling.
Impact
ICFP 2025 served as a crucial moment for the SRHR field to take the pulse on critical issues. The ICFP Communications Subcommittee ensured conversations reached beyond conference participants to influence broader discourse.
The subcommittee acted as an important touchpoint for the field by providing a place for communications professionals to collaborate on action items like messaging and dissemination strategies.
Key Takeaways
Communications Infrastructure Is Critical for Movement Survival
Throughout ICFP 2025, participants emphasized the urgency of combating anti-rights movements and mis/disinformation. Communications work is foundational to this effort. The SRHR field needs sustained investment in professional communications capacity to counter well-resourced opposition.
Additionally, as many organizations do more with less—with communications programs cut and many communications professionals leaving the SRHR field—having a coordinated SRHR communications infrastructure is essential. ICFP can serve as a convening platform where the field comes together to form strong, unified narratives.
Regional Partnerships Strengthen Capacity
Because of ICFP 2025, the SRHR community formed new partnerships in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region, including with Profamilia and Fundación Valle del Lili. LAC-based organizations greatly contributed to the communications efforts of ICFP. These partnerships demonstrate how regional communications coordination amplifies impact.
Powerful Voices
“Despite rapidly evolving challenges—like funding cuts, anti-rights movements, and mis- and disinformation—unified communications remains essential to advancing the SRHR community’s goals. ICFP can continue to serve as a central convening platform to align and strengthen our shared narrative.”
Next Steps:
Calls to Action
For The ICFP Platform:
Continue serving as a convener where the field can come together to craft messaging and narratives. Maintain ongoing subcommittee activities that support coordinated communications across the SRHR ecosystem.
For Organizations:
Invest in professional communications capacity as infrastructure for movement building, not overhead to minimize. Use shared templates and resources to amplify key messages while reducing individual burden.
For Funders:
Recognize communications as essential to countering mis/disinformation and anti-rights movements. Fund communications positions, media engagement, and narrative development as core programmatic work.
Video Highlight
FPNN Tells SRHR Stories Across Colombia
Ahead of ICFP 2025 in Bogotá, the Family Planning News Network (FPNN) led 12 international journalists across Colombia to capture diverse SRHR realities, challenges, and innovations in the country.
From deserts to jungles, from bustling cities to the Caribbean coast, this reporting trip uplifted voices shaping the future of SRHR. These stories remind us all that community-driven, equity-focused approaches to SRHR work.
See these examples of SRHR solutions in the official ICFP 2025 opening video below!
Meet the ICFP Community
The ICFP platform is anchored by 11 dynamic subcommittees, bringing together individuals and organizations from across the global sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) community.