About ARC

Advocating Reproductive Choices (ARC) is a coalition of civil society organizations working in the field of sexual reproductive health and rights. The alliance was formed in 2005 to strengthen the existing family planning/reproductive health policy and programs by leveraging the strength of its members. The main objective is to strategically engage with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and other relevant departments to expand contraceptive choices, improve quality of care and ensure availability, accessibility and affordability of contraceptive and reproductive health services.

History of ARC

In 2005, like minded individuals and organisations convened to form a network to advance equitable access to an expanded basket of contraceptive choices and methods. Since then, the coalition has been building the capacities of its members and facilitating their engagement with health and relevant departments to advance the sexual and reproductive health rights movement in a comprehensive manner. The first secretariat of the network was hosted at Parivar Seva Sanstha from 2005 to 2007 followed by the Family Planning Association of India, which hosted the ARC secretariat from 2008 to 2015. The Population Foundation of India had been hosting the secretariat since 2015 which was shifted to The YP Foundation in 2023.

Key Achievements of ARC:

  • Successfully advocated for expanding contraceptive options, leading to the introduction of injectable contraceptives (Antara), a significant step towards enhancing women’s choice and agency.
  • Shifted the family planning narrative from a health-based intervention to recognizing contraception as a universal right, emphasizing structural issues such as women’s empowerment and informed choice.
  • Provided critical recommendations to improve the quality of family planning services during the 10th Common Review Mission (CRM), an annual initiative by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
  • Designated as India’s Civil Society Focal Point for FP2020 and included in the India Country Engagement Group.
  • Acted as a policy and media think tank, consistently spotlighting issues such as quality of care, coercive practices, and regressive policies and statements.


Note: The CRM is an annual assessment conducted by MoHFW to evaluate the implementation of National Health Mission efforts across states. ARC members were invited to contribute as part of the National Injectable Task Force.