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West Africa

HP+ More recent West Africa publications are available.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide FP services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing FP by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • Updated analyses on the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate that countries would save money by investing in family planning programs. For example, in the nine francophone countries in West Africa, if governments provide family planning services to women who want to space or limit future births, countries would realize considerable savings in programs designed to address MDGs for maternal and child health, environmental sustainability, communicable diseases, and primary education. The savings in reduced costs outweigh the additional costs of providing family planning by a factor of 3 to 1 for the nine francophone countries as a whole. Summaries of the findings for the region in each country are available in English and French.

  • The USAID- and PEPFAR-funded Health Policy Project partnered with the government of Côte d’Ivoire and PEPFAR on a study to estimate the cost and impact of HIV treatment scale-up by calculating the cost of antiretroviral treatment (ART) for one person per year for adults, children, and pregnant women. This annual ART cost was analyzed as a function of regimen, stage of illness at treatment initiation, retention, and response to treatment. The average cost was used to project the total investment necessary to scale up ART between 2015 and 2020 and achieve the country’s 90-90-90 goal, in which 90 percent of people living with HIV know their status, 90 percent of those diagnosed with HIV are on treatment, and 90 percent of those on treatment are virally suppressed. Using the Spectrum suite of policy models, the study estimated the number of lives saved and pediatric infections averted if this treatment scaleup is achieved. This study fills the critical information gap on cost as it relates to outcome. The government of Côte d’Ivoire and its development partners will be able to understand the resource needs for treatment scale-up and have the necessary data to inform decision making to effectively target available resources for HIV treatment.

  • Costed Implementation Plans (CIPs) are concrete, detailed plans for achieving the goals of a national family planning program over a set number of years. A CIP details the program activities necessary to meet the goals and the costs associated with those activities, thereby providing clear program-level information on the resources a country must raise both domestically and from donors. The Health Policy Project, with various partners, has developed a collaborative, 10-step approach to creating a CIP that aligns with ongoing government planning and coordination efforts. This brief outlines these 10 steps, which when implemented, should result in a consensus-driven strategy, roadmap, and budget for achieving family planning targets under the Ouagadougou Partnership, FP2020, and/or other national programs. To date, the following countries have completed CIPs for family planning: Senegal, Burkina Faso, Niger, Togo, Mauritania, Guinea, and Zambia.

  • The USAID-funded Health Policy Project (HPP) formed a study team to estimate the unit costs associated with a minimum package of HIV services for female sex workers (FSWs) and men who have sex with men (MSM).

    To support the use of the analysis and cost data presented in the final study, the HPP study team also identified the need to develop a companion user guide to provide policymakers and program planners with a practical, stepwise approach to using data for decision making and evidence-based HIV programs, services, and policies, that address the needs of people living with HIV (PLHIV), MSM, and FSWs in Côte d’Ivoire.

    Using a stepwise approach with accompanying tables and worksheets, the guide first explains the importance of calculating average costs using data analysis presented in the larger study. Next, it explains how to determine and use program reach to estimate annual unit costs for HIV programs. Finally, the reader is shown how to project programmatic and national annual costs for FSWs and MSM. 

    The guide is available in English and French.

  • The Health Policy Project (HPP) helped countries achieve their health goals by building capacity for policy, advocacy, governance, and finance at multiple levels. The project developed global tools and best practices for policy work, promoted South-South sharing and collaboration, and carried out regional and country-specific policy initiatives. The files included in this zip document provide brief program overviews for each country highlighting key accomplishments. Individual briefs are available from the country pages.

  • These evidence-based advocacy materials, based on Spectrum projections, were produced under the USAID-funded Health Policy Project by the White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria to support national- and state-level advocacy efforts aimed at increasing access to family planning.

  • From May through July 2015 HPP conducted a financial gap analysis of CIPs in six West African countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Niger, and Togo. This allowed HPP to compare the annual funding available from the government and partners for family planning relative to each of the CIP budgets. In this study, “funding available” can be defined as any future funding that is promised, expected or estimated to be allocated to FP; in the case of past years, “funding available” refers to actual funds spent on FP, excluding overhead costs. The CIP Gap Analysis Tool, developed by Futures Group, was used to estimate additional resources needed to fully implement each thematic area identified in the CIP (contraceptive commodities, demand creation, service delivery and access etc.).

  • Discrimination against people living with HIV and key populations is a common and challenging problem. A year ago, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in Ghana launched a web-based system to provide a simple way for reporting HIV- and key population–related discrimination with help from the USAID and PEPFAR-supported Health Policy Project (HPP). This brief describes the outcomes of the discrimination reporting system after one year and ways forward. 

    Click here to read a blog on HPP's work on the CHRAJ stigma and discrimination reporting portal.  

  • Investing for impact is an explicit goal of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The institution’s strategy for 2012 to 2016 focuses on countries and populations where interventions promise maximum rewards for public health. As part of this “New Funding Model,” the Global Fund is asking applicant countries seeking financing to more accurately  demonstrate where and how their HIV programs will yield significant, measurable improvements in limiting the spread of the virus. Accomplishing this will depend to a great extent on each country’s ability to use geospatial analysis of epidemiological data to target resources to areas with the greatest need.

    Not all countries seeking Global Fund support have extensive experience with geospatial analysis. To address this gap, the Health Policy Project (HPP)—funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)—is working with 9 countries eligible for Global Fund support to strengthen their use of geospatial analysis in HIV policymaking and in strategic, financial, and program planning.

  • This report is the product of a budget tracking study regarding the engagements for family planning completed by the USAID-funded Health Policy Project in Niger, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Togo. The study examined the budget cycle process, identified  budget line items dedicated to family planning and analyzed financial commitments to family planning in each of the four countries through key informant interviews and a literature review. Stakeholders can use these results for informed and effectively timed advocacy for resources for family planning. 

  • In 2014, the Health Policy Project, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), supported the development of a subnational family planning advocacy booklet in Adamawa, Nigeria. Using Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development (RAPID), this booklet highlights the impact of the state’s low contraceptive use and high population growth on its development prospects, principally its ability to provide education, health, nutrition and employment to all its citizens.

  • “Population, Development, and Family Planning: The Urgency to Act” highlights the health benefits and cost savings associated with meeting all unmet need for family planning in nine francophone West African countries by 2030. If governments invested in meeting family planning needs, an estimated 500,000 infant deaths and 7,400 maternal deaths could be averted over the next decade. Similarly, if the nine governments invested US$84 million in family planning services over the next decade, they would save $195 million needed for programs to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2020. In other words, for every dollar invested in family planning programs, governments could save US$2.30 in reduced expenditures for maternal health, malaria, immunization, education and water and sanitation programs.

    Dr. Johanna Austin Lucinda Benjamin, Director of Primary Health Care and Disease Control of the West African Health Organization, presented these findings at the West Africa regional conference on Population, Development and Family Planning, held in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso, on February 8–11, 2011.

  • Males who have sex with males (MSM), transgender (TG) people, and sex workers (SWs) are at higher risk for HIV transmission than other individuals, even in generalized epidemics. Structural and policy issues have created barriers for MSM/TG/SW in seeking services and adopting individual and community harm reduction strategies. The Policy Analysis and Advocacy Decision Model for HIV-Related Services: Males Who Have Sex with Males, Transgender People, and Sex Workers, published by the Health Policy Project and AMSHeR (African Men for Sexual Health and Rights) with support from USAID and PEPFAR, is a collection of tools that helps users assess and address policy barriers that restrict access to HIV-related services for MSM/TG/SW. In 2012 and 2013, the Decision Model was applied in Burkina Faso and Togo. This brief presents the Decision Model and key policy findings.

  • This USAID-funded assessment, conducted in Togo, is the second country application of the Health Policy Project (HPP) and African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (AMSHeR) Policy Analysis and Advocacy Decision Model for HIV-Related Services: Males Who Have Sex with Males, Transgender People, and Sex Workers (Beardsley et al., 2013). The current application of the Decision Model in Togo complements the pilot application conducted in 2012 in Burkina Faso. It was designed as an in-depth policy analysis of the legal, regulatory, and policy environment related to sex workers (SW), men who have sex with men (MSM), and prison populations in Togo to uncover gaps in policy and practical challenges to policy implementation. Beginning in June 2013, the HPP principal investigator, a legal expert from AMSHeR, and a team of local consultants conducted a document review and assessment. The team collected an inventory of 116 source policy and program documents and previous policy and program research related to HIV and/or key populations. Upon completion of the inventory, the team conducted 21 key informant interviews to examine the policy environment and assess dissemination and implementation of current policies, particularly gaps in dissemination and implementation that pose barriers to service access for key populations. The HPP policy analysis and key informant interviews confirmed that positive changes related to HIV prevention, care, and treatment are occurring in Togo. Initial steps are being taken to develop policies that recognize key populations and aim to improve access to services for them. Significant opportunities exist to further progress, including the USAID-funded Regional Project for the Prevention and Care of HIV/AIDS in West Africa (PACTE-VIH) and open support from the president of Togo and the permanent secretary for the National AIDS Council. However, critical gaps in policy, dissemination, and implementation remain and are highlighted in this report.

    Read the brief on this topic.

  • In order to assess the pricing policies of family planning (FP) products and understand the impact of these policies on the accessibility of family planning services, the USAID-funded Health Policy Project (HPP), collaborated with the USAID | DELIVER Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger and Togo to formulate regional and national recommendations for improving contraceptive pricing policies to ensure the availability and sustainability of FP programs in West Africa.

  • Demographic pressures and lack of progress toward the Millennium Development Goals have encouraged countries in West Africa to "take a new look" at repositioning of family planning (RFP)---an initiative established to ensure that FP remains a priority for donors, policymakers, and service providers in sub-Saharan Africa. USAID requested that the Health Policy Project apply the newly developed "Framework for Monitoring and Evaluating Efforts to Reposition Family Planning" in Niger and Togo. The framework results represent a baseline that can subsequently be used to measure progress in RFP by country FP stakeholders. USAID also requested an assessment of policy barriers to community-based distribution of FP---the findings for which are included in this report. Niger’s family planning program has made considerable progress in the past five years. Signs of progress are a favorable policy environment, growing public support for family planning, and increased funding for contraceptive commodities. Family planning is provided free of charge and is included in the Minimum Package of Services that all public health facilities must provide. Still, challenges remain to meet unmet need for family planning, extend services to rural areas, and ensure that people have adequate information about contraceptive methods.

    To read the results of the application in Togo, view the report and brief, Repositioning Family Planning in Togo: A Baseline.

    Applications in six other countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal) were later conducted by Futures Group, with funding from the Hewlett Foundation. To access those reports and briefs, visit the Futures Group Publications webpage.

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  • Demographic pressures and lack of progress toward the Millennium Development Goals have encouraged countries in West Africa to "take a new look" at repositioning of family planning (RFP)---an initiative established to ensure that FP remains a priority for donors, policymakers, and service providers in sub-Saharan Africa. USAID requested that the Health Policy Project apply the newly developed "Framework for Monitoring and Evaluating Efforts to Reposition Family Planning" in Niger and Togo. The framework results represent a baseline that can subsequently be used to measure progress in RFP by country FP stakeholders. USAID also requested an assessment of policy barriers to community-based distribution of FP---the findings for which are included in this report. Although considerable progress has taken place in Togo in terms of RFP, much remains to be done. Efforts to date appear to have improved acceptance of FP and present opportunities for additional improvement.

    To read the results of the application in Niger, view the report and brief, Repositioning Family Planning in Niger: A Baseline.

    Applications in six other countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal) were later conducted by Futures Group, with funding from the Hewlett Foundation. To access those reports and briefs, visit the Futures Group Publications webpage.

     

  • The francophone West African countries are experiencing a critical shortage of health service providers, which affects access to and the provision of essential family planning services and contraceptives. Task sharing, or task shifting, a strategy endorsed by the World Health Organization, aims to shift family planning tasks from higher-level service providers to lower-level health staff to share the burden of family planning services within a health facility and increase access by providing family planning services through different service delivery points. As part of the action planning and budgeting process of the Ouagadougou Partnership/Call to Action (February 2011) to advance family planning in West Africa, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger, and Togo committed to implementing one or more forms of task sharing. In 2014, the USAID-funded Health Policy Project conducted desk reviews and qualitative interviews in Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger, and Togo to assess the implementation of task sharing for family planning services and develop comprehensive recommendations to improve task sharing policies for family planning to contribute to the availability and sustainability of family planning services in West Africa.

  • The increasing demand for family planning (FP) services coupled with decreases resources highlights the need to develop and implement strategies to ensure access to FP services for all. One way for governments to do this is to enact policies that facilitate market segmentation for contraceptives to shift financial pressures on governments, donors, and non-profit organizations from the public to private, for-profit sector. This report highlights results from a desk review and key informant interviews in Burkina Faso which assess pricing policies for contraceptives and provide recommendations to ensure availability and sustainability of contraceptives.

  • In order to assess task sharing for family planning (FP) and possible policy implications that impact accessibility of FP services, the Health Policy Project (HPP) conducted a desk review and qualitative methods to assess task sharing for FP in Niger. This report shows results from this study and provides country-specific recommendations to improve task sharing policies for family planning in Niger.

  • The Health Policy Project (HPP) conducted a desk review and qualitative methods in Niger to assess pricing policies for contraceptives that impact accessibility of contraceptives. This report provides results from this study as well as recommendations to improve pricing policies for contraceptives in Niger.

  • The Health Policy Project (HPP) conducted a desk review and qualitative methods in Togo in order to assess task sharing for family planning (FP) in Togo. This report provides a summary of our findings an recommendation to improve task sharing for FP in Togo.

  • The increasing demand for family planning (FP) services coupled with decreases resources highlights the need to develop and implement strategies to ensure access to FP services for all. One way for governments to do this is to enact policies that facilitate market segmentation for contraceptives to shift financial pressures on governments, donors, and non-profit organizations from the public to private, for-profit sector. This report highlights results from a desk review and key informant interviews in Togo which assess pricing policies for contraceptives and provide recommendations to ensure availability and sustainability of contraceptives.

  • Family planning has long been recognized in sub-Saharan Africa as an essential way to maintain and improve the health and well-being of women and their families. Several international conferences, particularly the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in 1994 highlighted the important role it plays in reducing maternal, newborn and child. However, the use of modern contraception is still very low in sub-Saharan Africa. This USAID-funded Health Policy Project report presents a situational analysis of repositioning family planning in West Africa. 

  • In order to assess task sharing for family planning (FP) in Mauritania, the Health Policy Project (HPP)  conducted a desk review and qualitative methods. This report shows findings from this study and provides country-specific recommendations to improve task sharing policies for FP in Mauritania to ensure availability and sustainability of FP services.

  • The increasing demand for family planning (FP) services, coupled with scarce resources highlights the need to develop and implement strategies that ensure access to FP services for all. One way governments more effectively target decreasing resources is to enact policies that shift FP users who can pay for services from the public to the the private, for-profit sector, thereby lessening financial pressures on governments, donors, and non-profit organizations. In order to assess pricing barriers for contraceptives in Mauritania, HPP conducted a desk review and key informant interviews to develop comprehensive recommendations to revised pricing policies for contraceptives to ensure availability and sustainability of contraceptives.

  • In order to assess task sharing policies for family planning (FP) in Burkina Faso, the Health Policy Project (HPP) conducted a desk review and qualitative methods. This report shows findings from this study and provides recommendadions to improve task sharing policies in Burkina Faso.

  • At the Ouagadougou Partnership and Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) meetings, governments committed to improving access to family planning services and information. Costed Implementation Plans (CIPs) for family planning services and information provide a framework and tools for governments to achieve their international family planning commitments. This booklet, prepared by the Health Policy Project, highlights the methodology behind CIPs, walks through 10 steps for designing and implementing a national CIP for family planning, and shares experiences from seven African countries that have developed national CIPs for family planning to inform their decision making. It is estimated that implementation of the CIPs will accelerate each country's progress toward both achieving its target contraceptive prevalence rate and reducing maternal and child mortality.  

  • The response to HIV and AIDS is an integral component of efforts to improve social and economic conditions in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Available data suggest that HIV prevalence rates among key populations, particularly female sex workers (FSWs) and men who have sex with men (MSM), are several times higher than the national averages for both countries. These groups also face additional barriers to social acceptance and access to services, compared with the general population. Accordingly, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire each completed a Strategic Framework to guide interventions and service delivery specifically for key populations. The frameworks propose a package of services that includes HIV prevention; HIV treatment, care, and support; and psychosocial support and legal services. This brief describes the costing analysis conducted by HPP and in-country stakeholders to provide country-specific costing data on key populations to provide an evidence base for policy-making processes.