The Paradox of Progressive Development: An Examination of Multilevel Dynamics in Reproductive Healthcare & Gender-Based Violence Programming by an Intergovernmental Organisation in West and Central Africa

In the field of international development, Intergovernmental Organisations (IGOs) must implement their global mandate while navigating local systems and cultures. However, reconciling the priorities of multilevel stakeholders can be complicated, especially in consideration of calls for increased community-led development to challenge existing power dynamics in the developmental arena. In this paper, I examine how these dynamics manifest and are tackled through the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) reproductive healthcare and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) programming in West and Central Africa. Using semi-structured interviews of expatriate and local staff members of the UNFPA and local activists within Community-Based Organisations (CBOs), I find a key tension between the UNFPA—positioned as the progressive, international standard, and the community—relegated as the regressive recipients of aid. These tensions are reified by top-down modes of policy implementation that overtly prioritise donor agendas and fail to include local perspectives and values. Based on these findings, I recommend the UNFPA to facilitate the relationship between duty-bearers and rights- holders, emphasising the role of the local government in serving their citizens, while improving existing feedback systems that connect communities to authorities. These findings will push developmental organisations to re-envision what inclusive community engagement and empowerment means, a crucial step to genuinely addressing local concerns.