Elements of Family Planning Success

This guide is designed to help family planning champions -- including civil society and NGOs, international and donor organizations, and interested government officials -- and other stakeholders promote the inclusion of family planning issues and programs into Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). Countries prepare PRSPs to qualify for loans and debt relief from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). As a condition of receiving assistance, the PRSPs must outline the macroeconomic and social policies countries will adopt to alleviate poverty and, ultimately, accelerate progress toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). From the perspective of family planning advocates, the PRSPs can demonstrate the government’s commitment to devise, fund, and implement family planning initiatives. From the perspective of governments and PRSP planners, satisfying unmet need for family planning is an innovative approach for reducing poverty that can help countries more easily achieve a range of socioeconomic goals.