CanWaCH delegation at ICFP 2025: Five questions with Zara Ahmed

Hosted in Bogotá, Colombia, the 2025 International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) saw the global community gather from November 3 to 6 to share knowledge, strengthen partnerships, and drive global progress to sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality. CanWaCH was pleased to join the conference and support the attendance of youth and delegates from organizations across our membership. The following Q&A is part of a series of interviews with members of the CanWaCH delegation. Read all of the delegation’s insights on Write to Thrive.

Why did you want to attend ICFP 2025?  What drew you to being part of the CanWaCH delegation?

Coming from a racialized, faith-based background, I’ve always had an interest in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and how it affects people like me. I’ve worked and volunteered in various capacities related to SRHR, global health and health equity, but have never fully immersed myself in an environment that discussed SRHR in all its complexities. 

Family planning as an aspect of SRHR is also something that was new to me, and something I wanted to learn deeply about from experts across the world. 

The CanWaCH delegation specifically surrounded me with individuals who are (like myself) passionate about SRHR both nationally and internationally. The delegation also gave me the opportunity to learn from peers currently working in the field.

What was a moment at ICFP 2025 that made you stop and think differently about an issue? Did you hear a perspective that challenged your assumptions or changed your mind?

I was intrigued by the sessions that discussed the pronatalist and anti-rights movement — and the impact it has had on global SRHR. While I was aware of the topic, and its connection to discussions of low fertility rates, it wasn’t really at the forefront of my mind. The sessions helped me realize just how pervasive it was in the international development sector. I learned about the ways people and organizations were addressing the issue, from providing financial incentives for birthing (which doesn’t work by the way) to outright banning contraception care, all with government support. 

In one of the sessions related to the topic, I learned about the WHO’s upcoming guidelines on infertility and how they can be used to support those who wish to have children but are facing challenges. This sparked a thought in me: despite the fact that we’re in a time where people’s reproductive rights are being threatened, we also may be (unintentionally) leaving some people behind. In order for us to truly succeed in the family planning space, we must ensure that all aspects of the Reproductive Justice Framework are advocated for, without allowing others to taint our work.

If you had to describe ICFP 2025 in three words, what would they be?

Busy, information-packed and insightful!

How did you choose which events and activities would be most useful/relevant?

I did my best to choose sessions that were out of my comfort zone! I had some experience in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) for certain populations, like immigrants and youth, but wanted to fill in some of the gaps I knew I had. With so many sessions being held at the same time, it was really hard to narrow down which ones to attend. That said, I never regretted the ones I went to! 

I found a session on new tools and approaches for SRHR to be particularly useful, as I’m new to the world of monitoring and evaluation. It was interesting to see just how many advancements have been made in the development of methods for data collection. There was also a “policies on reproductive health” session, which I initially didn’t intend on going to, but it opened my eyes to how advocacy can lead to real-world change on a legislative level.

Was there a specific person or organization you were especially excited to meet or learn from? 

I can’t say there was a specific person or organization I was looking forward to meeting, but I was excited to learn more about topics I hold near and dear to my heart. The Faith Subcommittee held a full-day session during the preconference, where they discussed how important faith is to SRHR, the impact faith leaders have in programming and the roles they play in their communities. As a Muslim, I’m aware of how my religion has shaped my understanding of SRHR, but as the session went on, I realized just how little I knew about faith in global SRHR planning. So much work was being done, and I was only learning about it then. The discussions on decolonizing global programming and building multifaith collaborations pushed me further, exposing assumptions I didn’t even realize I had. I was made to truly reflect on my own position in these spaces, as a Canadian, as a Black woman, and as a Muslim, and on the privilege I have in these intersecting identities.

Last thoughts?

Throughout the conference, the importance of messaging was something that constantly came up. In the faith sessions, religious framing was used to make programming participants feel more comfortable with discussing SRHR topics and to ensure sacred texts aren’t being misinterpreted. When I asked about how we can prevent bad-faith actors from co-opting infertility research for the pronatalist movement, the answer was to be blunt about why we’re doing the work we’re doing. In the pronatalist and anti-rights session, I learned that certain language was used to take a legitimate issue (declining birth rates) and create “solutions” that cause harm to most people, if not everyone. Even when discussing new tools in SRHR measurements, if participants have a vague understanding of what’s being asked of them, it generates results that are either inaccurate or don’t show the whole picture. Messaging can truly make or break any SRHR initiative. I believe that this is something that will stay with me throughout the rest of my career and my life.

Connect with Zara on LinkedIn!