September 27, 2022
The topic of youth development is inherently a multisectoral one, and one that sectoral leaders as well as communities and youth themselves need to care about. But finding a way to get these multiple stakeholders on the same page has been challenging because each sector focuses on its own programs, outcomes, and metrics. YouthCount is a new policy model developed by HP+ that can help get these diverse sectors focusing on a set of common information and results.

September 12, 2022
The country must urgently find new and innovative ways to finance health services and reduce the cost of care borne by citizens.

August 9, 2022
To help advance thinking about how to address the causes of contraceptive discontinuation, this blog series reflects on emerging approaches and creative thinking about how family planning programs can better help women and men remain as satisfied users of contraception.

April 6, 2022
A thoughtful round-up of the topics covered during the HP+ End-of-Project Learning Exchange held on March 30, 2022.

March 3, 2022
Faith communities throughout Mali have a powerful role to play in either combating or perpetuating gender-based violence.

February 24, 2022
Gender-based barriers prevent many individuals from seeking information and accessing family planning services. However, innovative work is helping bridge these gaps in healthcare for all.

February 23, 2022
A local network of contraceptive security subcommittees established by Guatemala's National Contraceptive Security Commission, is helping to bring locally led solutions for its communities.

December 10, 2021
As the world struggles to recover from the relentless coronavirus pandemic, the goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) has become more relevant than ever. UHC means that people have access to community services that promote healthy habits, disease prevention and early detection, quality medical treatment and rehabilitation services without suffering financial hardship. COVID-19 has underscored just how elusive UHC is.

October 13, 2021
Health centers and religious leaders in the eight districts where the Faith and Community Initiative is being implemented in Malawi work together to increase the uptake of HIV services, encouraging community members to get tested, get on treatment if found positive, and then adhere to ART.

October 5, 2021
Young advocates need collective support to build their skills and confidence, open doors to create advocacy opportunities, and develop lasting relationships.

August 5, 2021
A two-year program in Malawi aims to educate people, especially men and boys, about HIV, reduce transmission of the virus, help people to know their HIV status and start and stay in treatment.

July 13, 2021
HP+ colleagues Robin Brazier and Jay Gribble discuss the role data can play in improving Guatemala's public health.

July 7, 2021
Although all of the world's problems are not yet solved, I choose to celebrate the progress that has been made this World Population Day.

April 21, 2021
Community healthcare workers and advocates need to have a seat at the table where governance decisions are being made and have direct access to inputs needed to serve their communities.

April 6, 2021
By using geospatial analytics, HP+ Mali was not only able to help decisionmakers visualize disparities in healthcare coverage but also understand how to best reallocate efficiency gains to target underserved areas and provide options for scaling the country’s community health worker program

March 19, 2021
HP+ has developed a tool for identifying inequity in family planning programs that can be applied in any country with a Demographic and Health Survey. Specifically, our FP Equity Tool identifies inequities in family planning.

February 16, 2021
This blog series examines the benefits of multisectoral actions in responding to the complex environment in which we live and explore the interrelationships between health and other sectors.

February 5, 2021
Eliminating health inequities is a broad goal and a tall order because it requires working within the health system, as well as outside it.

December 15, 2020
What appears likely is that the economic impact of COVID-19 will last much longer than the virus itself. Understanding COVID-19 in Africa requires an understanding of its diverse impacts.

December 4, 2020
How should Indonesia proceed to achieve HIV epidemic control? By focusing on specific changes that can boost its HIV response.

September 24, 2020
We ask our staff to tell us what on World Contraception Day puts a smile on your face?

July 11, 2020
To mark World Population Day, HP+ will launch a visual campaign of our unique and diverse staff reflecting on what World Population Day means in the age of COVID.

July 7, 2020
In Monrovia, Liberia, a small business owner saw a need to broaden the market for medical equipment. She now runs CliniLab, a primary care clinic that serves as an agent for InterMedics medical equipment and a supplier of Philips radiology equipment to the wider health market.

July 7, 2020
Helping Kenya's county governments' journey to self-reliance with assistance on effectively using program-based budgeting.

June 18, 2020
Young leaders in Malawi are finding ways to gain allies through mentoring in their fight to effect change in their communities.

June 10, 2020
Thinking systematically is essential to creating an environment to ensure that services remain available during crises. To achieve a more sustainable path, the focus should be on developing and implementing relevant policies that provide a legal and regulatory platform to allow stakeholders to hold decision-makers accountable for commitments.

June 5, 2020
Nigeria and Kenya have found a way to harmonize the work of national-level ministries in each country’s mission to decentralize and enhance their healthcare systems.

May 15, 2020
Family Planning 2020 recently convened representatives from 15 francophone African countries and Haiti to discuss the future of family planning and draft the year’s objectives.

April 15, 2020
Policies are implemented by people – and people are influenced by cultural and gender norms. While some may hold progressive attitudes toward gender equality, others may internalize and reinforce the same rigid gender norms that conflict with a new policy goal. The gender attitudes of individuals responsible for implementing policies (and making funding decisions or providing services) must be addressed or we will continue to see a range of policies fall short of achieving their goals.

April 15, 2020
The COVID-19 response is impacting the availability of essential health services, especially health services for pregnant women and newborns that cannot be delayed or shifted to other settings.

March 31, 2020
COVID 19: When majority of front-line health workers are women, when home is dangerous for many, pandemic gender equity needs a look. HP+ experts Jay Gribble and Beth Rottach are guest writers for Science Speaks.

March 23, 2020
How can digital technologies help with tuberculosis control?

December 10, 2019
This Universal Health Coverage Day we focus attention on the imperative for effective leadership and management.

November 26, 2019
HP+ Deputy Director of Family Planning, Jay Gribble, gives his insight on the ICPD Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya.

October 22, 2019
Health service delivery integration, when properly organized, can achieve cost-effective health outcomes. But for integration to work, services should be linked and requires effort on many fronts.

September 30, 2019
In Nigeria, getting more people enrolled into health insurance would expand the insurance funding pool and protect residents from catastrophic health costs.

September 24, 2019
This World Contraception Day we ask, "how many more miles" on the road to contraceptive freedom? Our own Jay Gribble shares his reflections.

August 21, 2019
In Malawi, data is being used to inform important health decisions at both the national and state levels as part of the HP+ project's efforts to help others collect and utilize data to strengthen advocacy and health systems.

July 10, 2019
World Population Day 2019 provides an opportunity to pause and reflect on what has happened over the past quarter century—the advances that have taken place and the unfulfilled aspirations yet to be achieved.

July 9, 2019
This World Population Day, an HP+ staff recounts her experiences in Malawi, where HP+ supports programs that inform the youth population of services that are available to them. This is part of the country’s national growth and development strategy and youth-friendly health services strategy.

June 24, 2019
After decades of unwavering donor support for the financing of family planning, HIV, and other priority health services, many have come to see free service provision as a given. But this perception, that essential health services and commodities are “free”, is only partially true.

June 24, 2019
In most cases, children in Guatemala drop out of school to earn a living for their families. With limited local job opportunities available, they are often forced to migrate in search of better opportunities and a prosperous future.

June 10, 2019
Keeping a health system functioning during the best of times isn’t easy; keeping it working during times of shock and crisis requires that a greater number of factors work in coordination.

May 16, 2019
At the recent UNAIDS conference, the need for greater political will emerged as a major factor that is still needed to strengthen sustainable financing, in a time of stagnating and uncertain donor support.

April 16, 2019
Two HP+ colleagues recount their experience at the 5th African Health Economics and Policy Association (AfHEA) Conference in Accra, Ghana. There, hundreds gathered to discuss if and how securing primary healthcare could be the foundation for making progress on universal health coverage in Africa.

February 25, 2019
In October 2018, the Government of Nepal adopted the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Act of Nepal. The legislation marks the first time that respectful maternity care has been included in national legislation.

January 28, 2019
In a world that has normalized disrespect and abuse (D&A) of pregnant women and mothers, WRA India is amplifying the voices of Indian women and girls to create a new culture of respectful care through a multi-pronged campaign that is actively growing a community of mothers who are demanding respectful care.

December 4, 2018
I have three dreams I'd put forward to family planning donors: sustained commitment to high-quality, voluntary family planning; inclusion of family planning into universal health coverage (UHC); and increased country ownership of family planning program efforts.

December 4, 2018
Among the discussion on the demographic dividend, there’s an important topic that is overlooked?—?the importance of addressing gender to maximize the opportunity to achieve a dividend. All too often, family planning is the woman’s responsibility. Addressing gender biases is at the front of many FP/RH programs, and until we change them achieving a demographic dividend will remain beyond the grasp of those who are working toward it.

December 3, 2018
Family planning is an investment that yields returns on many fronts. It contributes to economic growth by allowing women and couples to decide on the number and timing of children they want; it contributes to female empowerment; and nations reap the benefit of family planning with accelerated economic growth.

November 27, 2018
In order to secure family planning financing for future generations, planning for sustainable funding must start now. Strategies and investment cases for family planning, now a mainstream practice, still focuses too much on what can be funded through external resources; mobilizing domestic resources seems to be an afterthought.

November 9, 2018
Malawi's Youth-Friendly Health Services Strategy was designed to increase family planning for the country's young people. To spread the word, HP+ is helping teach young people to produce local weekly radio programs that inform youth about available family planning services.

September 20, 2018
HP+'s Deputy Director of Family Planning and Reproductive Health, Jay Gribble discusses on World Contraception Day why policy matters for contraception and family planning.

July 24, 2018
Henry Mphwanthe is a health economist, seconded by the USAID-funded Health Policy Plus project to Malawi's Ministry of Health.

July 17, 2018
Funded by USAID, the Family Planning-Sustainable Development Goals (FP-SDGs) Model projects how different levels of family planning use—directly and indirectly through their impact on demographics—can affect a country's ability to make progress toward the SDGs by 2030 and 2050. The open-source model covers a wide range of SDGs and their indicators, including water, sanitation, and housing.

May 9, 2018
As the mother of a 17-year-old son, I worry about a lot of things, from school safety to gender norms that support "boys being boys" and everything in between. One thing I don’t worry about is my son's capacity to advocate for his health. He knows his right to high-quality care that respects his level of development, or underdevelopment as the case may be.

March 7, 2018
This International Women's Day, #IWD2018, we asked, "How do you #PressforProgress?" Here's what you said.

January 4, 2018
Over the past five years, the partnership achieved its goal of one million additional family-planning users, and has now increased its goal to 2.2 million by 2020. In the past two years, the partnership has added 910,000 additional users, representing achievement of 41% of their goal.

December 18, 2017
Working-age young adults in places characterized by low employment prospects, social services, and educational opportunities are more susceptible to recruitment by rebel or extremist groups. While a young population does not equate to armed conflict or violence, addressing the needs of youth—education, jobs, and health—are critical to helping individuals and nations overcome challenges and achieve their potential.

December 11, 2017
Improving the quality of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) services will be critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Sustainable Development Goal 3, which focuses on preventing maternal and child mortality and adolescent pregnancies.

December 4, 2017
This blog post is part of a wider HSG blog series in the lead up to the Universal Health Coverage Forum 2017, which takes place in Tokyo, Japan from 12 - 15 December. In this series, HSG members provide their perspectives on how Health Policy and Systems Research is fundamental to achieving Universal Health Coverage by 2030.

November 29, 2017
We asked our staff around the globe to tell us how their HIV-related work promoted Transparency, Accountability, and Partnerships. Here's what they had to say.

November 8, 2017
Recent efforts of key government agencies, supported by the current presidential administration and HEP+, have demonstrated significant progress and promise in establishing a clear and well-defined plan for decentralization. With the continued success of these efforts, Guatemala may finally begin to realize its vision of the transparent, accountable and inclusive democracy, three decades in the making.

October 31, 2017
As Malawi’s population is rapidly increasing, the impact will be felt across diverse development sectors—requiring a multisectoral response to address the rapid population growth. With 97% of Malawi’s population made up of religious followers, religious leaders are a vital tool for population advocacy. Malawi’s religious leaders have partnered with the government through HP+ to advocate to their congregations on population growth management and family planning.

October 26, 2017
Health, finance, agricultural ministers and others gather this week in Kampala, Uganda, for the 4th Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA High-Level Ministerial Meeting. Participants will take stock of progress and chart future directions for country, regional, and international responses to advance global health security. The GHSA, to which more than 50 countries around the world have committed, aims to protect communities from infectious disease threats.

October 10, 2017
We have the largest youth population ever. The young age structures- especially in African countries- reinforce the need to take effective action to address employment prospects for youth.

August 18, 2017
Timely and accurate data are key to developing and implementing family planning policies and programs. But what happens when those tasked with using data for decision making don't make those decisions? Or what if they make decisions based on incomplete or inaccurate data? Who is accountable for data quality? And how are they held accountable? A group of women leaders for family planning in Uganda explored these questions through a participatory assessment.

August 18, 2017
In Indonesia, the fourth most populous nation in the world, the government initiated its national health insurance scheme Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (or JKN for short) in January 2014, aiming to cover 95% of its population by 2019. With over 260 million people scattered across 6,000+ inhabited islands, providing universal access to affordable, timely, high-quality healthcare equitably is no small feat.

August 11, 2017
Participating in the 2017 International Health Economics Association (iHEA) World Congress last month was an opportunity to view our work through a different lens. The wide array of experiences and lessons shared during the conference represented new ways of thinking about the challenges of mobilizing and sustaining sufficient domestic resources for health in developing countries.

July 10, 2017
It will take work and time, but we can achieve a sustainable future—an alternative to the population growth we're currently facing and the cascading consequences that come along with it. Investing in family planning means giving the world a more measured growth curve and giving countries the chance to put the necessary systems and infrastructures in place to meet the demands of their people, accelerate growth, and make progress toward the SDGs.

May 31, 2017
Niger has a young and growing population. There is a role for development partners to help young girls in Niger—and in other West African countries—reach maturity before they begin having children. Young people need the opportunity to grow and learn and to understand that children by choice, not chance is part of creating healthier communities.

May 10, 2017
Can family planning save mothers' lives? Yes, and how it works is really quite simple. This Mother's Day, HP+'s Jay Gribble weighs in.

May 4, 2017
This year, the theme for the International Day of the Midwife, celebrated on May 5, is "Midwives, Mothers and Families: Partners for Life!" The word “partners” is key: midwives know the value of partnering with their clients and their clients’ families and communities. But another important partner, sometimes overlooked, are the other health workers that midwives routinely work with as they deliver well-woman, pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care.

April 25, 2017
How can limited resources for global health be spent to have the biggest possible impact? Health Policy Plus’ Jay Gribble does some soul searching and makes the case for family planning’s strong return on investment in his latest blog, where he argues, “Family planning isn’t just a good investment—it’s a great investment and yields large positive returns. But perhaps more important is the transformative role that family planning can play at the individual, family, community, and national levels.

March 27, 2017
While it’s not always true, the lamentable truth is that demography as destiny is the case for most of the world’s population. One way to begin breaking down the demography-destiny cycle, and improve global security, is through health diplomacy, and in particular through family planning.

March 8, 2017
A recent meeting of advocates supporting the introduction and scale up of the injectable contraceptive DMPA-subcutaneous (DMPA-SC)—commonly known as Sayana® Press, which is currently the only formulation on the market—provided the chance to learn how the method is being introduced in countries, discuss challenges countries are facing, and map the way forward to ensure that women who want to use it have access to it.

December 14, 2016
Gender and sexual minorities are treated unfairly in almost every society. Violence, stigma, and discrimination directly affect their health and interfere with access to health services, including HIV-related prevention, care, and treatment. In 2014, the Health Policy Project (HPP), in coordination with a U.S. government interagency team, developed a training aimed at sensitizing PEPFAR staff and their implementing partners in 38 countries.

December 11, 2016
UHC and health insurance coverage are often assumed to mean the same thing. However, it is not necessarily true that the road to UHC must be paved with expanded health insurance! Here, we discuss common misconceptions about how insurance schemes advance the principles of universal health coverage.

December 7, 2016
In 2013 Kenya devolved much of the function and authority of its central government out to 47 newly created counties. This devolution of power, if effectively leveraged, creates an opening for the country to accelerate progress toward achieving both the Sustainable Development Goals and universal health coverage.

December 1, 2016
This World AIDS Day, see what the HIV continuum means to us, why we’re putting our hands up for #HIVprevention, and tell us what the HIV continuum means to you.

November 23, 2016
What would you do to access health care? Would you take a bus for three hours to a clinic? Arrange child care with friends and family? If you missed that bus, would you take a ride from the police? The Fourth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research opened with a story of what one woman from a rural indigenous community endured to get a simple biopsy in British Columbia, Canada. Out of this story emerged a common theme: Researchers must consider systems for health, not just health systems.

November 22, 2016
The White Ribbon Alliance, with support from the USAID-funded HP+ Project, is working to ensure respectful maternity care in Malawi. Citizens’ Hearings held in Malawi brought to light that many midwives often treat expectant mothers disrespectfully during childbirth at the health centres and hospitals.Malawi’s Citizens’ Hearings started in June 2016 and have so far taken place in 10 districts in the country attracting more than 6,000 citizens.

November 11, 2016
The global health community has rallied around universal health coverage (UHC) to ensure equitable access to high-quality services while mitigating financial hardship. This blog provides considerations for engaging politics from policy to action to help achieve UHC worldwide.

November 7, 2016
This blog discusses ideas of how can we help countries develop and implement strong family planning programs across the globe.

September 14, 2016
The Government of Malawi committed to achieving the SDGs by 2030 at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015, but is struggling in its efforts to achieve quality and accessible health services in accordance with the SDGs. This blog describes the reasons why that's the case.

August 18, 2016
Blog reflecting on the 2016 IAEN pre-conference, and how the field of health financing has changed since IAEN last met in Durban 16 years ago.

July 21, 2016
Sara Bowsky, HP+ Deputy Director for HIV, concludes her blog post with, "It’s time for us as researchers, clinical care providers, and policymakers to listen up and take note. These youth are not just the future; they are our experts today."

July 21, 2016
Health Financing experts Catherine Barker and Thomas Fagan discuss the financial challenges we face in eradicating HIV and the innovative approaches to financing that have the potential to revolutionize our response.

July 21, 2016
To reach the ambitious targets of the global HIV response, including universal treatment and viral suppression, we must first reach all populations with lifesaving HIV services. This blog discusses the HPP-developed gender and sexual diversity training and how it's affected communities and programming across the globe.

April 11, 2016
Civil Society Briefing Brings Opportunity to (Re) Engage Civil Society Leaders in HIV Response.

April 3, 2016
In the lead-up to the UN High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, to be held in New York in June, this blog shines a light on the importance of political leadership to meet ambitious goals to help end the AIDS epidemic—and the need for civil society to set demands and hold government accountable for their stances and promises.

March 9, 2016
Advocate promotes prevention, works to change perceptions with her personal tale of triumph over a frightening virus and the stigma that it can bring.

March 1, 2016
Studies from different parts of the world reveal that there are three immediately-actionable causes of HIV-related stigma in health facilities: lack of awareness among health workers of what stigma looks like and why it is damaging; fear of casual contact stemming from incomplete knowledge about HIV transmission; and the association of HIV with improper or immoral behavior.

January 27, 2016
In just a few years, we have shifted from an era when family planning was often marginalized due to political sensitivities or paid mere lip service, toward an invigorating, inspiring atmosphere of commitment that is fully evident here at ICFP.

January 26, 2016
Jay Gribble, Deputy Director, FP/RH and Senior Fellow reflects on attending the 2016 ICFP conference

December 11, 2015
The global health community lost one of its stars on November 20, when Anita Datar of Palladium was among those killed in Bamako, Mali, where she was working to launch a new project that would improve that nation’s health policy and financing landscape.