Elements of Family Planning Success

This compendium was developed with the help of many individuals. At the request of the USAID East Africa Regional Mission with the Inter-agency Gender Working Group (USAID), MEASURE Evaluation developed this compendium in collaboration with a technical advisory group (TAG) of experts. The goal was to develop a set of monitoring and evaluation indicators for program managers, organizations, and policy makers who are working to address violence against women and girls (VAW/G) at the individual, community, district/provincial and national levels in developing countries.

This archive constitutes legacy of The ACQUIRE Project and has been designed as a searchable knowledge resource for the reproductive health and family planning (RH/FP) community. It contains a wide range of resources that were developed over the life of the project, at both the global and the country (field) levels. This content reflects the experience of programs from all regions and the outcomes of an extended global-field partnership dedicated to delivering more services to more people in more places.

The 2008 Update of WHO's Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use summarizes the changes made to five recommendations from the second edition for which new evidence had become available. The changes were made through consensus by the WHO expert Working Group that convened in April 2008.

The 2008 Update of WHO's Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use presents a table for seven contraceptive method groups and summarizes: 1) changes to medical eligibility classifications for recommendations in the third edition; 2) medical conditions whose definition changed; and 3) recommendations for newly added medical conditions or sub-conditions. The changes were made through consensus by the WHO expert Working Group that convened in April 2008.

This Population Reports issue is the flagship publication of the "Elements of Family Planning Success" initiative that identified the top 10 elements most important to the success of family planning programs in coordination with health care professionals from around the world. The report synthesizes online discussions about these elements and highlights program experiences, best practices, and evidence-based guidance derived from nearly six decades in international family planning.

This newsletter examines the unrealized potential of LAPMs to help family planning programs meet the needs of clients and improve public health. Although there are some challenges associated with the provision of LAPMs, these can be overcome by improving service delivery and educating potential clients. FHI and its partners have identified several ways to improve access to LAPM services, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where there is a high unmet need for these services.

This short publication offers clear suggestions for programme managers to address unmet need for family planning in the face of current political, financial, and health-systems challenges. It also comprises the 25th anniversary issue of Outlook, which since 1983, has synthesized the latest scientific research and evidence on effective reproductive health programming and made it available to programme managers, policymakers, health care providers, researchers, and educators around the world.

The Medical eligibility criteria for contraceptive use – one of the four cornerstones of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) evidence-based family planning guidance – provides evidence-based recommendations on whether an individual can safely use a contraceptive method. This guideline is intended for use by policy-makers, programme managers, and the scientific community in the preparation of national family planning/sexual and reproductive health programmes for delivery of contraceptives.

You are cordially invited to explore and utilize the new Resource Package for Family Planning and Beyond: The ACQUIRE Project Digital Archive at http://www.acquireproject.org/archive

Workers in Mexico’s maquiladoras (assembly plants) are mainly young, single women, many of whom could benefit from emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs). Because ECPs are readily available in Mexico, women who know about the therapy can obtain it easily. Do maquiladora workers know about the method? Could worksite programs help increase awareness?