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This will be the final issue of Works in PROGRESS, as the five-year USAID-funded PROGRESS project comes to an end this fall. We extend our gratitude to all the partners that made this project a success! Together, we can continue to make PROGRESS in increasing access to family planning for underserved populations. We encourage you to use the results, tools and resources developed under this project in your work and share them with colleagues. Resources will continue to be available on our website. |
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From Vision to Reality: PROGRESS Releases
Integrating Family Planning into Other
As interest in multi-sectoral approaches is growing, PROGRESS has packaged materials that can facilitate replication or expansion of these models. Research summaries, videos, and project implementation tools are available for two of the approaches, and a more detailed summary of the third approach, are available from the PROGRESS website. Costed Implementation Plans: Lessons Learned and Guidance for Reaching FP 2020 Goals Strategic use of family planning funds with greater country ownership and accountability is a high priority in the context of the Family Planning 2020 movement. Costed implementation plans, or CIPs, can help determine requirements for human, financial, and technical resources, as well as for commodities and equipment, and then facilitate efforts to advocate for those resources. In the last three years, the PROGRESS project provided technical leadership in the development of CIPs in Kenya, Nigeria (Gombe State), Senegal, and Tanzania, working with Ministries of Health and multiple partners. A new report, based on that experience, offers lessons on why developing a CIP is important and describes a five-step process for how to develop such a plan. That report is available here. Links to these CIPs are available here.
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Join FHI 360/PROGRESS at ICFP PROGRESS looks forward to sharing the results from many of its research and programmatic activities at the November 2013 International Conference on Family Planning in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. For a schedule of more than 25 presentations based on PROGRESS-supported activities, click here. Topics of the presentations range from introduction of the levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) in Kenya to strategies for keeping community health workers motivated. Hope to see you there! National Family Planning Conference Held in Tanzania Approximately 700 participants attended the first-ever Tanzania National Family Planning Conference, entitled "Local Solutions for Local Problems: Advancing the Evidence-Base for Repositioning Family Planning in Tanzania," held in October 2013. The conference was opened in the presence of several dignitaries, including Tanzania’s Vice-President Dr. Mohamed Gharib Bilal, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare Dr. Hussein Mwinyi, and FP2020 Director Valerie De Fillipo. The PROGRESS project provided secretariat functions for the conference, in addition to technical assistance on the program and logistics and presentation of oral and poster abstracts. The Conference website is here. Agenda-Setting Meeting Held on Family Planning Provision within Drug Shops In September 2013, PROGRESS and USAID convened a small working meeting on family planning provision within drug shops. Key experts from nine donor and implementing organizations specializing in research, advocacy, and service delivery reviewed the current evidence from the field and discussed a research and program agenda for expanding family planning in drug shops. A consensus statement on moving the field forward is being drafted. More information on PROGRESS’s work in this area is available here. m4RH Receives Award from African Development Bank PROGRESS’s m4RH system puts contraceptive information directly into the hands of men and women through an automated, interactive and on-demand short message service (SMS, or text message) system. m4RH has been named a winner in the African Development Bank’s eHealth Awards. These awards recognize current work using information and communication and mobile technology for health in Africa. m4RH was among 10 winners, selected from more than 100 proposals. m4RH has also been nominated for the prestigious Katerva Awards for Sustainability. More information on m4RH is available here. PROGRESS Supports First World Vasectomy Day Rwandan physicians, trained under the PROGRESS-supported nationwide scale-up of vasectomy in Rwanda, participated in the first World Vasectomy Day on October 18, 2013. As part of awareness raising efforts, PROGRESS contributed two blog posts to the World Vasectomy Day website, describing the context of scaling up vasectomy in Rwanda, available here, and the public health impact of 1,000 vasectomies in selected countries in Africa, here. |
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PROGRESS (Program Research for Strengthening Services) is a five-year project awarded to FHI 360 by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in June 2008. The project seeks to improve access to family planning among underserved populations by providing global technical leadership and working in selected countries. PROGRESS currently works in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in India.
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During the 5-year USAID-funded PROGRESS project, FHI 360 and its partners made an impact in meeting the family planning needs of underserved populations. The PROGRESS project conducted 42 research and evaluation studies, contributed to over 47 major changes in policy and program, built capacity among 13 partners in seven countries, and supported over 200 publications. PROGRESS work focused on seven technical areas: community-based family planning, family planning provision within drug shops, postpartum family planning, family planning integration with non-health sectors, mobile technologies for health, expanding the family planning method mix, and capacity building. The PROGRESS End-of-Project Report, 
PROGRESS research studies assessed three approaches for integrating family planning information and referrals into other development sectors: microfinance, agricultural and environmental. Study results showed that these integrated models were feasible, acceptable, and effective. Results and lessons learned from the integrated projects have been synthesized in a 
Number 11 • Oct/Nov 2013
