Community-Based Family Planning

Community-based family planning (CBFP) brings family planning information and methods to women and men where they live rather than requiring them to visit health facilities. One of the main objectives of CBFP programs is to increase access to and choice of contraceptive methods in underserved areas. CBFP programs work through a variety of channels, including community health workers, community depots, drug shops, mobile services, and the private sector. Advancing Partners & Communities supports the expansion of CBFP services to help accomplish the goal of making the full range of modern family planning methods available at the community level.  CBFP services involve a significant level of community ownership and should also be linked to the government’s health system so as to not duplicate, replace, or ignore the existing system.

Photo credit: Amy Cotter/USAID

Below you will find links to resources created by APC and other organizations.

APC Resources

Creating Global Resources for Developing Mobile Family Planning Applications for Community Health Workers
December 2018 | Brief

To align digital solutions that improve family planning service (FP) delivery among community health workers, APC is producing a generic set of resources that FP stakeholders can use as a starting point for developing FP mobile applications. APC is spearheading this effort in collaboration with international and local NGOs, technology firms, donors, and ministries of health.

Strengthening Community-based Family Planning Systems through Collaborative Improvement in Uganda: Lessons and Results
May 2018 | Brief

Since 2015, the Advancing Partners and Communities (APC) project has worked in partnership with the Ugandan Ministry of Health (MOH) to improve the quality of and access to community-based family planning (CBFP) services.

Self-Injection of DMPA-SC Leads to Improved Continuation Rates
September 2017 | Study

The Advancing Partners & Communities project conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing continuation rates of women using self-injected and provider-injected DMPA-SC contraceptives.

Community Health Policy Matters
May 2017 | Video

APC’s Community Health Policy Matters video tells the story of fictional characters Winnie and Mary, and how a fragmented health system affects each woman’s ability to access family planning services in her respective community. This animated video highlights how policy can improve the health system for women.

Strengthening Community-based Family Planning Systems through Collaborative Improvement in Busia District, Uganda
April 2017 | Brief

In this second issue of the APC Quality Improvement Brief, APC describes the progress to date in systematic efforts to improve the quality of CBFP in Busia District and plans to scale up these efforts in two other districts in Uganda.

Delivery of Injectable Contraception by Drug Shop Operators in Uganda: Research and Recommendations
October 2016 | Brief

At the London Family Planning Summit in 2012, the Government of Uganda committed to providing universal access to family planning and reducing unmet need for family planning from the current 40 percent to 10 percent by 2022. To meet this ambitious goal, all potential means of increasing accessibility to family planning must be explored.

In support of community-based emergency contraception
April 2016 | Journal Article

To read the full article on emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), please register with Contraception Journal.

CHW Central - A Global Resource For Community Health Workers
April 2016 | Website

CHW Central, launched in 2011, is an online community of practice managed by Initiatives Inc. that provides a forum for online discussions and exchanges with public health professionals and program managers, policy makers and CHWs in the U.S. and across the globe.

Situation Analysis of Community-Based Referrals for Family Planning - July 2015
April 2016 | Report

This situation analysis report reviews the evidence on current models of community-to-facility referrals for long-acting and permanent methods of FP (LAPMs), provides recommendations on promising models that should be tested for effectiveness, and suggests an agenda for future research. A literature review and key informant interviews were conducted to document the available evidence.

Applying a Quality Improvement Model to Strengthen Community-based Family Planning Services in Busia District, Uganda
April 2016 | Brief

In February 2015 APC, implemented by FHI 360 in Uganda, conducted a collaborative site assessment for CBFP programs with the MOH in the three pilot sites, Bulumbi, Buhehe and Buteba. The assessment identified areas for service delivery improvement, which were quantified by the QI monitoring that started in June 2015.

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Below are select resources related to key issues within community health systems strengthening.

Gender Norms of Health Care Providers

Gender norms are part of the community and affect everyone. Community health programs must recognize that everyone, including program designers and healthcare providers themselves, are socialized into certain ways of thinking and behaving as women and men, and about women and men. As a result, women and men often experience stigma and discrimination from healthcare providers. Healthcare providers should receive training in gender sensitivity to challenge their thinking about gender norms and be mindful of gender issues when interacting with clients.

Female Community Health Volunteer National Survey Report 2014
January 2016 | Report

The 2014 Female Community Health Volunteer (FCHV) survey provides a comprehensive assessment of the FCHV program in Nepal. The document reports the findings of a national-level quantitative survey of FCHVs and from complementary qualitative interviews with key national, district level, and community stakeholders. The results are intended to increase understanding of the current status of the FCHV program and reflect on stakeholder perceptions of program experience and performance.

Community Health Worker Motivation

In the face of global health worker shortages, the use of community health workers (CHWs) is an important health care delivery strategy for underserved populations. In Uganda, community-based programs often use volunteer CHWs to extend services, including family planning, in rural areas. This study examined factors related to CHW motivation and level of activity in three family planning programs in Uganda.

Community Health Policy Matters
May 2017 | Video

APC’s Community Health Policy Matters video tells the story of fictional characters Winnie and Mary, and how a fragmented health system affects each woman’s ability to access family planning services in her respective community. This animated video highlights how policy can improve the health system for women.

Nepal’s Community-based Health System Model: Structure, Strategies, and Learning
January 2016 | Brief

The Community-based Health System Model briefs identify and discuss critical health system inputs and processes that have contributed to the implementation and expansion of community-based service delivery in different countries. Countries were selected for their geographic diversity, type of service delivery model, and programmatic scale-up. This brief reviews Nepal’s community health model to inform future policy, program design, and implementation in other countries.

Keeping community health workers in Uganda motivated: key challenges, facilitators, and preferred program inputs
January 2014 | Study

This study examined factors related to community health workers (CHWs) motivation and level of activity in three family planning programs in Uganda. In the face of global health worker shortages, CHWs are an important health care delivery strategy for underserved populations. In Uganda, community-based programs often use volunteer CHWs to extend services, including family planning, in rural areas.

Community Health Workers Provision of Injectables

CHW provision of injectables is an important issue that should be widely expanded:

Sayana® Press: A Guide for Trainers of Providers
January 2015 | Training Guide

This trainer’s guide provides content for training on the progestin-only injectable contraceptive Sayana® Press. These materials were first used in 2012 to train facility- and community-based providers on use of Sayana Press (formerly depo-subQ in Uniject) in acceptability studies in Senegal and Uganda.

Long-Acting and Reversible Contraceptives

Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC)—intrauterine devices and contraceptive implants—are safe and appropriate contraceptive methods for most women and adolescents. Expanding access to LARC for young people will drastically reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal and infant morbidity and mortality across the globe.

Situation Analysis of Community-Based Referrals for Family Planning
March 2016 | Brief

This analysis aims to review the evidence on current models of community-to-facility referrals for LARC/PM, to provide recommendations on promising models that should be tested for effectiveness, and to provide an agenda for future research.

Vouchers: Addressing inequities in access to contraceptive services
March 2015 | Brief

The just published HIP brief written by Ben Bellows, Population Council; Elaine Menotti, USAID; and Shawn Malarcher, USAID, describes how vouchers can address key challenges for family planning programs, discusses the potential contribution to improving the quality and use of contraceptive services, outlines key issues for planning and implementation, and identifies knowledge gaps.

CHSS

Strengthening Community-based Family Planning Systems through Collaborative Improvement in Busia District, Uganda
April 2017 | Brief

In this second issue of the APC Quality Improvement Brief, APC describes the progress to date in systematic efforts to improve the quality of CBFP in Busia District and plans to scale up these efforts in two other districts in Uganda.

Community-Based Family Planning Course
January 2017 | E-Learning

This course orients the learner to the essential elements for designing and implementing successful, sustainable CBFP programs. It describes three popular approaches to CBFP—provision by community health workers (CHWs), mobile outreach services, and drug shops—and provides an opportunity for users to practice what they learned using a case study.

Applying a Quality Improvement Model to Strengthen Community-based Family Planning Services in Busia District, Uganda
April 2016 | Brief

In February 2015 APC, implemented by FHI 360 in Uganda, conducted a collaborative site assessment for CBFP programs with the MOH in the three pilot sites, Bulumbi, Buhehe and Buteba. The assessment identified areas for service delivery improvement, which were quantified by the QI monitoring that started in June 2015.

WellShare International, founded in 1979, has a mission to advance sustainable community health around the world. WellShare applies a holistic approach that builds effective partnerships, engages community health workers to bridge the gap between communities and the formal health sector, rigorously evaluates outcomes, and promotes long-term sustainability. WellShare reaches its goal of healthy people through a focus on health education, transfer of simple technologies, and connecting people to timely and appropriate health resources.

World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization that focuses its efforts on emergency relief, education, health care, gender issues, economic development, and child advocacy. World Vision partners with children and families to help them break the cycle of poverty using a community development approach.

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August 02, 2018 | Webinar

The fifth webinar in the Expanding Contraceptive Choice series will be on Vasectomy. The webinar was on Tuesday, August 2, 2018, from 9:00–10:00 A.M. ET.

April 24, 2018 | Webinar

The fourth webinar in the Expanding Contraceptive Choice series was on Intrauterine Devices (IUDs). The webinar was on Tuesday, April 24th, 2018, from 9:00–10:00 A.M. EST.

December 20, 2017 | Announcement

Advancing Partners & Communities is excited to announce that our animated video, “Community Health Policy Matters,” is the winner of the advocacy category for the 2018 Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH)-Pulitzer Global Health video competition!

December 19, 2017 | Announcement

This video from Advancing Partners & Communities' grantee, World Vision, shows efforts to increase access and use of voluntary family planning services in North Eastern Kenya and received an Honorable Mention in the advocacy category for the 2018 CUGH-Pulitzer Global Health Video Competition.

December 07, 2017 | Webinar

View the webinar recording and presentations from the second webinar in the Expanding Contraceptive Choice series on fertility awareness methods. 

November 04, 2017 to November 08, 2017 | Event

Join Advancing Partners & Communities at this year's American Public Health Association Annual Meeting from November 4 - November 8, 2017.

October 26, 2017 | Blog

On World Contraception Day, the Government of Benin formally acknowledged Sayana Press as a fully registered contraceptive choice in Benin. The launch of Sayana Press is a milestone that will give women and young people a chance to meet their reproductive needs.

October 12, 2017 | Webinar

The Advancing Partners & Communities project, in collaboration with Family Planning 2020, the Implementing Best Practices initiative and USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health, hosted the first webinar in a webinar series designed to share information about various family planning methods on Thursday, October 12th, 2017. View the webinar recording and presentations.

September 28, 2017 | Event

Join APC grantee Christian Connections for International Health (CCIH) and the Christian Journal for Global Health for a discussion on the Global Church and Family Planning on September 28, 2017, from 9:00-10:00 A.M. US ET featuring programs in Uganda, Nepal, and India.

September 25, 2017 | Blog

In May 2016, relais communautaires began introducing Sayana Press. In the three months since introduction, more than 450 women have received the contraceptive injection.

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Check back again for related photo galleries or videos.

Frank Fianu educating his colleagues on condom use.

The HKN program trains distributors, known as “HealthKeepers,” who directly sell health-promoting products and counsel customers. HKN initiated outreach to work with commercial drivers—known as StationGuards—to promote a healthy lifestyle and provide their peers with reliable access to health protection products and services

Dangou Inoussa

APC Benin provides capacity building and technical assistance to a group of local NGOs that implement health interventions in maternal and child health, family planning, and other areas.

Paul Mulawa is a 38-year-old Family Planning (FP) Champion and Village Health Team (VHT) member in the Iganga District, Ibalanku subcounty of Uganda. Elected by the community, Mulawa l’s VHT works within their community to promote FP, encourage individuals to immunize their children, and discuss hygiene in their homes.

Health Workers

WellShare International trained 257 village health team members in Uganda to provide adolescents with adolescent sexual and reproductive health counseling and family planning services.

Photo of Edward Basalirwa inspecting a patient's shoulder.

Edward Basalirwa is a 40-year-old Village Health Team (VHT) member and farmer from the Iganga District of Uganda. Edward was prompted to form a VHT Association in the Nsale Parish to improve the community’s well-being, and the VHT was elected in the community by the LC1 chairman, or village leader.

Believe

Believe Semakor is a community health worker who has worked with HealthKeepers Network for almost two years.

Photo shows Nana Akorlegah educating his male colleagues in his community on the use of condoms

Despite the largely invisible role played by men in terms of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Nana Kofi Akorlegah, a Health Keeper based in Ohiamadwen, a suburb of the Shama district in the Western Region, says he was determined to succeed and has no regrets joining the program.

Peace Kpodo, HealthKeepers Network

Peace Kpodo, a health worker with HealthKeepers Network, provides services including education on family planning; dispelling myths and misconceptions about HIV and AIDS; and promoting and selling family planning commodities.

Photo of Nana Ohene Kwatia speaking with people outside their home.

Nana Ohene Kwatia, a HealthKeeper who lives at Frafraha-Old Town, a Suburb of the Adentan Community in Accra is also the paramount chief of the Obom traditional area, a suburb of Adawso in the Eastern region. Kwatia said his passion to become a health champion compelled him to join HealthKeepers Network (HKN).

Amina Amidu

Amina Amidu is a smart and hardworking young lady who works with the Kayayei (Head Porters) Youth Association in Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Accra. She joined the HealthKeepers Network after learning about it from the leader of the Youth Association.

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