For more than four decades, FHI 360 has been a leader in transforming family planning programs and policies and increasing the availability of high-quality contraceptive methods, counseling and services around the world. Today, we join our partners in celebrating World Contraception Day, which occurs every year on September 26, in recognition that family planning impacts every Sustainable Development Goal and can help countries realize the potential of the demographic dividend.
Our work to expand access to high-quality, affordable contraception includes:
- Advancing community-based family planning and task-sharing. FHI 360 has led the expansion of access to community-based family planning, including injectable contraceptives. Our current work under the Advancing Partners and Communities project, which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, supports the Ministry of Health in Uganda in its comprehensive approach to community-based family planning, including by the expansion of access through drug shops. A new article provides important insights into the work demands, satisfaction and livelihoods of community health workers in Madagascar. Recent research led by FHI 360 in Malawi showed that self-injected contraceptives may truly be a game changer in increasing the continued use of contraception among women in low-resource settings.
- Expanding method choice and increasing the voluntary use of family planning among youth. In 2015, FHI 360 contributed to the development of a new global consensus statement highlighting the importance of expanding method choice for adolescents and youth to include long-acting and reversible methods. As a founding member of the Expanded Method Choice for Youth Working Group, we recently helped conduct a survey that documented how organizations have used the global consensus statement as an advocacy tool to increase contraceptive choice for young people.
- Using digital technologies to promote social and behavior change. Digital technologies have the potential to increase access to evidence-based information and promote healthy sexual and reproductive behavior. FHI 360 recently authored a High Impact Practices brief that demonstrates how the use of mobile and internet-connected devices is a promising practice for social and behavior change in low-resource settings.
- Increasing access to highly effective but underused contraceptive methods. For many years, FHI 360 has led efforts to increase global access to contraceptive implants at an affordable price. FHI 360 is also working with partners to help determine if and how expanded access to the levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) — a long-acting contraceptive — could increase contraceptive use and continuation rates in sub-Saharan Africa. A new article describing the experiences of early adopters of the LNG-IUS in Kenya can inform the development of demand creation and communication strategies.
- Developing new contraceptive methods. FHI 360 is working to fill gaps in the contraceptive method mix. We recently led a #NextGenContraception campaign to explore the importance of new contraceptive research, development and advances in the field.
We look forward to sharing more with the global community at the upcoming International Conference on Family Planning. Read more about FHI 360’s cutting-edge work in contraception and family planning.
Funding for this work comes from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and others.
