Equilibres & Populations

Equilibres & Populations is a French international solidarity organization founded in 1994 by physicians and journalists in the run-up to the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo. It works at improving women and girls’ living conditions and status, in particular their sexual and reproductive health and rights – an essential condition for a just and sustainable development.

Today, Equilibres & Populations can rely on 13 full-time staff and 22 members, with an annual budget of 1.5 million euros. Its headquarters are located in Paris. Since 2008, it has a sub-regional office in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Equilibres & Populations carries out advocacy activities towards decision-makers in the North and in the South, as well as innovative projects on the ground in partnership with African associations. Data gathered by pilot projects can thus feed policies and programs at a larger scale and facilitate the financial support of donors.

Equilibres & Populations conducts projects in various areas: improving development policies and practices, capacity strengthening for development and health actors, supporting the structuring of health systems, promoting the abandonment of harmful traditional practices (Female Sexual Mutilations), promoting maternal health, improving young people’s sexual and reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS prevention. For a few years now Equilibres & Populations has tackled the issue of adolescent girls in precarious situations.
Equilibres & Populations works along with several networks (parliamentarians, associations, researchers) and adopts a multidisciplinary approach (public health, demography, political sciences, socio-anthropology).
Over time, Equilibres & Populations has integrated several consortia, such as Coordination Sud (France) or Eurongos (Europe).

Vision

There is no universal way towards development. However, human development must rely on a few strong principles:
-social equity and justice: provide every individual with the chance to become socially, politically and economically active.
-sustainability: current successes must not be acquired at the expense of future generations (which corresponds to the notion of inter-generational equity).
-respecting human rights: economic, social and cultural rights.
Improving women’s living conditions and status, especially their sexual and reproductive health and rights, is at the same time a goal and an indicator of development. There will be no sustainable development if women, half of the world population, are not associated to the process.

Mission

Equilibres & Populations supports civil society in developing countries, in particular in West Africa.
Equilibres & Populations acts as an intermediary between civil society and decision-makers in the North and in the South, as well as between research and development practices and policies.
Equilibres & Populations bases its actions on the Gender approach, on a participative approach, on partnering and on community and political mobilization.