2007 — With support from the U.S. Agency for International Development through the Contraceptive and Reproductive Health Technologies Research and Utilization program, FHI 360 initiated a project to revitalize family planning, especially the intrauterine device (IUD), in Uttar Pradesh, India. FHI 360 collaborated on this effort with the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the government of Uttar Pradesh, the Population Council, the Indian Council of Medical Research, the Constella Futures Group, and the Government of India’s State Innovations in Family Planning Services Project Agency.
To update knowledge and gain a consensus on how best to expand family planning services that include the IUD, FHI 360 conducted a “Symposium to Develop a Comprehensive Strategy for IUD Repositioning” in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. This report documents discussions among international family planning experts and conclusions reached by the group about activities to revitalize family planning and IUD use, including:
- Reviewing national family planning guidelines
- Examining factors that reduce access to services
- Designing interventions to increase the provision of family planning, especially IUD uptake
- Identifying effective strategies to increase the quality of information and counseling available to clients
- Providing technical assistance to providers to improve family planning services including the IUD
- Designing and implementing appropriate formative research on family planning and the IUD
- Conducting operations research on identifying effective family planning programs
