Archive for: Family Planning

HoPE-LVB Project Evaluation Webinar

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Pathfinder International and partners in Kenya and Uganda have implemented the Health of the People and Environment in the Lake Victoria Basin (HoPE-LVB) project since 2011. The project aims to scale up its use of the population, health, and environment (PHE) community-development model at local, national, and regional levels by integrating PHE considerations in formal government development planning and policies. “PHE” refers to the PHE approach, which aspires to increase access to comprehensive reproductive health services and improve maternal and child health care practices while simultaneously improving natural resource management in project communities.

On April 30th, 2019, HoPE-LVB project implementers and evaluators discussed the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) evaluation report on the model’s effectiveness and scalability. Released in April 2018, the USAID report addresses three key questions:

  • What are stakeholders’ perceptions of the HoPE-LVB project model’s added value to family planning and reproductive health, maternal and child health, livelihoods, governance, natural resources management, or conservation?
  • Has the HoPE-LVB project’s explicit focus on systematic planning for scale-up resulted in positive outcomes for the model’s institutionalization, sustainability, and expansion?
  • To what extent did the HoPE-LVB project achieve its objectives as measured by its key performance indicators/results?

The evaluation of HoPE-LVB had been long anticipated, as the project was supported by cross-sectoral investments by multiple donors and represents a pioneering East African PHE project implemented at scale.

The webinar, scheduled at 9:00 a.m. EST on April 30, 2019, was hosted by the PACE (Policy, Advocacy, and Communication Enhanced for Population and Reproductive Health) project. It included the following speakers:

  • Clive Mutunga of USAID provided introductory remarks on USAID’s support for PHE models globally and what USAID learned from the evaluation of HoPE-LVB.
  • Eileen Mokaya of Pathfinder International provided an overview of the HoPE-LVB project.
  • Richard Kibombo of Global Health Program Cycle Improvement Project (GH Pro) shared the evaluation’s results and his suggested next steps for PHE sustainability and scale-up.

Year: 2019

Source: Pathfinder International | Population Reference Bureau

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    Community Health

    Conservation

    Family Planning

    Integration

    Monitoring & Evaluation

    Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

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    HOPE-LVB Model Households: Serving as Role Models and Teachers in Their Communities

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    Model households are a key aspect of Health of People and Environment in the Lake Victoria Basin (HoPE-LVB), an integrated Population, Health, and Environment (PHE) project with sites in Kenya and Uganda. Model households are trained in multiple project activities to illustrate behaviors that allow families to thrive without taking a toll on their environment and natural resources. Model households exhibit positive behaviors, including practicing sustainable agriculture and resource planning, adopting alternative livelihoods, prioritizing reproductive health and family planning, and investing in clean water for drinking, cooking, and washing.

    Year: 2016

    Source: Pathfinder International

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      Advocacy

      Conservation

      Family Planning

      Integration

      Population

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      Health and Conservation in the Cardamoms in Cambodia: Lessons Learned from the CI-CARE Partnership

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      From a range of interviews, observations, and desk reviews of documents this publication presents lessons learned from Conservation International (CI) and Cooperative for Assistance Relief Everywhere (CARE)’s health care and conservation initiative in the Cardamom Mountains Region of Cambodia. The primary focus is on elements of CI’s Population Health Environment (PHE) interventions involving reproductive health/family planning activities and conservation in partnership with CARE-Cambodia to deliver family planning, reproductive and general health services in southwestern Cambodia.

      Year: 2008

      Source: Conservation International

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        Conservation

        Family Planning

        Integration

        Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

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        Global Warming and Reproductive Health

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        The largest absolute numbers of maternal deaths occur among the 40–50 million women who deliver annually without a skilled birth attendant. Most of these deaths occur in countries with a total fertility rate greater than 4. The combination of global warming and rapid population growth in the Sahel and parts of the Middle East poses a serious threat to reproductive health and food security. Poverty, lack of resources, and rapid population growth make it unlikely that most women in these countries will have access to skilled birth attendants or emergency obstetric care in the foreseeable future. Three strategies can be implemented to improve women’s health and reproductive rights in high-fertility, low-resource settings: (1) make family planning accessible and remove non-evidence-based barriers to contraception; (2) scale up community distribution of misoprostol for prevention of postpartum hemorrhage and, where it is legal, for medical abortion; and (3) eliminate child marriage and invest in girls and young women, thereby reducing early childbearing.

        Year: 2012

        Source: International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics

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          Climate Change

          Family Planning

          Maternal and Child Health

          Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

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          Fostering Economic Growth, Equity, and Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of Family Planning

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          Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is undergoing major transformations. In the last decade, the region has experienced strong economic growth, reduced maternal and infant deaths, increased levels of education, and new advances in technologies and telecommunications—creating the conditions for a robust future. However, recent economic growth rates have slowed, underscoring the need for new strategies. Persistent high rates of population growth threaten to undermine future economic growth as well as other social and development advancements. In addition, more than 335 million people live in poverty and many are left out of the progress. The great challenges leaders face are how to cope with growing populations, reduce poverty and inequity, build the resilience of those most vulnerable, be competitive in today’s global economy, and improve people’s lives without compromising the environment or the well-being of future generations.

          Tackling these challenges requires cross-sectoral collaboration, innovative approaches, and making the most of all available interventions. Family planning is one intervention that could and should be further leveraged. This review examines the critical role of voluntary family planning in Africa’s future. It provides an overview of the status of family planning over the last five years, and explores family planning’s tremendous potential to make a difference in many of the social and economic obstacles facing SSA today.

          Year: 2016

          Source: Population Reference Bureau

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            Economic Development

            Family Planning

            Resilience

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            Finding Balance: Forests and Family Planning in Madagascar

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            Filmed in Madagascar, this 9-minute documentary explores the linkages between population growth and environmental destruction in one of the world’s most biologically unique places. Finding Balance profiles Voahary Salama, a local organization working to preserve the island’s rainforest by integrating health and family planning into conservation efforts. This innovative approach to conservation and development addresses the needs of women in remote rural areas while offering hope for the sustainability of critical ecosystems and the biodiversity they shelter.

            It is accompanied by a factsheet that explains population-environment links, and provides background on Madagascar and Voahary Salama.

            Year:

            Source: PAI

            Video | Factsheet

              Conservation

              Family Planning

              Integration

              Population

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              Fewer Emitters, Lower Emissions, Less Cost: Reducing Future Carbon Emissions by Investing in Family Planning

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              The purpose of this project was to perform a cost-benefit analysis of reducing carbon emissions by non-coercively reducing population growth. The study estimates the cost-effectiveness of providing global access to basic family planning (as a major method of population growth reduction) in reducing future carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions between 2010 and 2050. This finding is compared to other means of reducing CO2 emissions.

              The study found that for each $7 spent on basic family planning (2009 US$) CO2 emissions would be reduced by more than one tonne (meeting all unmet need between 2010 and 2050). By comparison, Project Catalyst predicts that reducing one tonne of CO2 emissions would cost at least $32 using low-carbon technologies. This study also found that meeting all unmet need would prevent the emission of at least 34 Gt of CO2 between 2010 and 2050 assuming that demand for family planning is not stimulated by family planning proposals.

              Year: 2009

              Source: Optimum Population Trust

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                Climate Change

                Family Planning

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                Family Planning-Sustainable Development Goals (FP-SDGs) Model

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                The FP-SDGs Model is an evidence-based advocacy tool that projects medium- and long-term effects of three different family planning scenarios, capturing the significant impact that contraceptive use has on SDG achievement. The model can be applied in any country, and allows users to design multiple scenarios to show how investments in family planning, education, and the economy can accelerate progress toward the SDGs. By showcasing the benefits of contraceptive use related to health, society, and the economy, the model provides evidence that supports investments in family planning at national and subnational levels.

                Results from country-level applications of the model enable users to:

                • Make the case for family planning financial investments and policy and programmatic improvements
                • Mainstream family planning across development sectors

                Year: 2018

                Source: Health Policy Plus

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                  Advocacy

                  Economic Development

                  Education

                  Family Planning

                  Sustainable Development Goals

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                  Family Planning Promotes the Demographic Dividend

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                  This policy brief explores the complex relationship between population dynamics and economic development in developing countries. When populations transition from high mortality and fertility rates to longer life expectancies and smaller family sizes, this is known as the demographic dividend. The brief expains how, during this transition phase, there are potentially significant economic benefits. In addition, the authors make recommendations for policy changes to increase investments in family planning and reproductive health, girls’ education, and economic development for youth.

                  Year: 2011

                  Source: The Aspen Institute

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                    Economic Development

                    Family Planning

                    Institutionalization

                    Population

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                    Family Planning Integration with Food Security and Nutrition

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                    There is a need to understand how best to integrate family planning with food security and nutrition programming and a need to raise awareness about the importance of family planning for improved food security and nutrition outcomes. However, to date there has been limited peer reviewed literature and a dearth of documentation on programmatic experiences of integrating family planning with food security and nutrition. To address this evidence gap, the Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance III Project (FANTA) conducted a desk review to take stock of and better understand how food security and nutrition programs are integrating family planning. As a companion to this review, the Health Policy Project conducted two literature reviews summarizing the empirical evidence on why it is important to integrate these services. This brief summarizes the findings from the FANTA desk review.

                    Year: 2015

                    Source: FHI 360 | FANTA Project

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                      Family Planning

                      Food Security

                      Integration

                      Nutrition

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