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.
Between 2012 and 2019, APC worked closely with a number of East African FBOs and CBOs to advance family planning in last-mile communities. Along with colleagues from these organizations and USAID, in September 2019 the project held a consultative workshop, “Voices of Experience,” to harvest the wisdom of individuals and groups working in this area and to inform new activities and possible funding going forward.
November 2019 | WebsiteLearn more about the PHE work done by APC grantee, Hen Mpoano, in the Western region of Ghana. The project aimed to create awareness in PHE approaches to show the benefits of improved health and environment outcomes as well as strengthening community-based distribution systems for contraceptives and much more.
November 2019 | ReportThe goal of APC in Uganda over the past five years was to reduce mistimed and unwanted pregnancies among teenagers and women of low parity and contribute to a reduction in total fertility rate. Learn more about the work and the results accomplished over this time period.
August 2019 | ReportEntre septembre 2012 et avril 2019, le projet Advancing Partners & Communities (APC) financé par l’USAID et mis en œuvre par JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. et FHI 360, a soutenu des programmes de santé communautaire au Bénin, principalement dans les 10 zones sanitaires de l’USAID et au niveau national.
July 2019 | Photo GalleryExplore the story and lessons learned from the PHE project, Integrating Health and Family Planning into Greater Amanzule Wetland (GAW) Landscape Conservation and Small Scale Fisheries Management in the Western Region of Ghana.
July 2019 | BriefEffective and sustainable health interventions are coordinated, multifaceted, and multisectoral, and leverage the resources and expertise of the public, faith-based, and private health sectors. This is especially the case with family planning activities, for which partnerships across health and non-health sectors have great potential to create demand for and improve delivery of family planning services.
June 2019 | Project HighlightSince 2014, through a grant by the USAID-funded APC project, World Vision Kenya has led the Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancies project in Garba Tulla in northern Kenya, home to about 50,000 people.
Between September 2012 and April 2019, APC supported community health programs in Benin, primarily in 10 USAID priority health zones and at the national level. The project focused on three main areas: 1) helping Benin reach its community health goals; 2) expanding and strengthening the country’s package of key health services and practices; and 3) institutionalizing and expanding community-based family planning.
Entre septembre 2012 et avril 2019, le projet APC financé par l’USAID et mis en oeuvre par JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. et FHI 360, en partenariat avec le Ministère de la Santé du Bénin, a renforcé le système de santé communautaire dans le pays. APC a travaillé dans 10 zones sanitaires prioritaires de l’USAID, ainsi qu’au niveau national, pour améliorer la prestation des services et les interventions à haut impact (PIHI) dans les communautés et élargir la planification familiale à base communautaire.
Entre 2012 et 2018, le projet Advancing Partners & Communities (APC) financé par l’USAID, en partenariat avec le Ministère de la Santé du Bénin, a renforcé le système de santé communautaire, en particulier la planification familiale. Cette collection de photos raconte l'histoire de ce travail.
Below are select resources related to key issues within community health systems strengthening.
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.
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.
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.
May 2017 | VideoAPC’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.
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.
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.
CHW provision of injectables is an important issue that should be widely expanded:
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
January 2017 | E-LearningThis 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.
April 2016 | BriefIn 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.
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) that provides individual and community development and disaster relief in over 120 countries worldwide. ADRA’s community development efforts promote health, provide food and water, and empower children through education. Their disaster relief projects coordinate with local governments to deliver medical care, food, water, and shelter to affected populations.
DKT International is a non-profit that promotes family planning (FP) and HIV/AIDS prevention through social marketing. DKT International’s Ghana initiative uses two social marketing strategies to address the unmet need for FP. The organization drives demand by brand building using mass media and non-traditional communication. DKT also increases commodity security through the distribution of high quality, affordable contraceptives.
Global Team for Local Initiatives (GTLI) works in southwest Ethiopia to facilitate local initiatives in enhancing long-term adaptability and resilience of indigenous communities in adapting to environmental changes. The organization implements projects in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), income generation, and education programs for adults and orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC). GTLI’s primary focus and impact measurement is behavior change.
The HealthKeepers Network (HKN) was created to fill the health services and information gap in Ghana. HKN utilizes a franchise system that provides reliable service by mobilizing entrepreneurial women to distribute health commodities and information to rural villages. The system employs a door-to-door approach, encouraging community involvement in the distribution process. Community members and local caregivers are also encouraged to provide counseling on correct product usage.
HealthRight International addresses health and social challenges aggravated by human rights violations for key populations worldwide. The organization focuses on issues related to HIV/AIDS, women’s health, malaria, tuberculosis, orphans and other vulnerable youth (OVC), and other individuals affected by human rights violations. HealthRight International’s Partnership for Maternal and Neonatal Health Plus (PMNH+) program was launched in 2012 under USAID’s Child Survival and Health Grant Program (CSHGP) to improve child survival and maternal health across Kenya.
The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) is a global research institute with headquarters in Washington, D.C., and regional offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and New Delhi, India. Our research evidence identifies women’s contributions as well as the obstacles that prevent them from being economically strong and able to fully participate in society. ICRW translates these insights into a path of action that honors women’s human rights, ensures gender equality and creates the conditions in which all women can thrive.
PATH is the leader in global health innovation. An international nonprofit organization, we save lives and improve health, especially among women and children. We accelerate innovation across five platforms—vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, devices, and system and service innovations—that harness our entrepreneurial insight, scientific and public health expertise, and passion for health equity. By mobilizing partners around the world, we take innovation to scale, working alongside countries primarily in Africa and Asia to tackle their greatest health needs.
Pathfinder International is driven by the conviction that all people, regardless of where they live, have the right to decide whether and when to have children, to exist free from fear and stigma, and to lead the lives they choose. Since 1957, they have partnered with local governments, communities, and health systems in developing countries to remove barriers to critical sexual and reproductive health services. Together, they expand access to contraception, promote healthy pregnancies, save women’s lives, and stop the spread of new HIV infections, wherever the need is most urgent.
Precision Development Xperts is a local Ghanaian NGO with an overall mission of empowering communities and individuals to adopt improved health behaviors for total human development. Over the years, Precision Development Xperts has implemented a number of health projects including bednet distribution, point of use water purification, and community-based family planning.
The Salvation Army World Service Office (SAWSO) supports and strengthens The Salvation Army’s efforts to work hand in hand with communities to improve the health, economic, and spiritual conditions of vulnerable populations worldwide. SAWSO provides HIV/AIDS and community health services, disaster relief, and economic strengthening activities. They also offer seminars to raise awareness and train community members to eliminate human trafficking.
