Letter from Diana R. Silimperi, MD International Health Division Vice President
Dear Friends,
This issue of Abt Associates' International Health Division's newsletter focuses on our work in the critical area of Family Planning/Reproductive Health (FP/RH).
Abt recognizes that the advantages of FP far outweigh health benefits. There is growing evidence of FP’s role in improving education, the environment, and economic well-being of individuals worldwide.
Meeting Demand for Modern Contraception: Role of the Private Sector
According to research conducted by the USAID-funded, Abt-led Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Project, private providers worldwide are key partners in the provision of family planning products and services. For over 20 years, the private sector has consistently provided a substantial proportion of modern contraceptives. In most countries, both poor and rich women obtain their modern family planning methods from the private sector.
Camping: A Dedicated, Holistic Approach to Strengthening Family Planning in Zambia
The Abt-led, DFID-funded Scaling Up Family Planning (SUFP) project is working to reduce unmet need for family planning and unintended pregnancies in Zambia. SUFP is doing so through a number of interventions and an innovation: the camping approach. The SUFP technical team, in collaboration with National Family Planning Trainers, “camps” in each of the program districts for an intensive two weeks of activities including demonstrating placement of long-acting family planning methods; and building the capacity of health care providers and Community-Based Distributors through on-site training and mentorship.
Celebrating 50 Years of JAFPP’s Family Planning Services in Jordan
On January 27, 2015, SHOPS hosted a “golden jubilee” dinner to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Jordanian Association for Family Planning and Protection (JAFPP). With SHOPS support, JAFPP has increased family planning and reproductive health visits to its clinics by 37 percent in four years. About one in five Jordanian women chooses a JAFPP clinic for insertion of an IUD, the most popular contraceptive method in Jordan.
Judith Moore, an expert with more than 30 years of experience in public health programming with a focus on women and children, has joined Abt Associates as the strategic lead for maternal, newborn and child health for the International Health Division.
At the recent Global Health Mini University (Mini-U) in Washington, D.C., Abt Associates staff designed and led 11 sessions, highlighting evidence-based best practices from technical areas such as health systems strengthening, health finance, maternal, newborn and child health, non-communicable diseases, and eHealth.
The 14th World Congress on Public Health, held in Kolkata, India from February 11-15, 2015, brought together more than 3,000 participants from a wide range of public health disciplines from around the world.
To close its 50-year anniversary celebration, on January 15 Abt convened the first event in its Bold Thinker Series by holding a panel discussion focusing on the increasingly important role public-private partnerships are playing in improving health and economic well-being on a global scale. A diverse group of thought leaders explored the future of public-private partnerships beyond 2015, and how to create an environment that encourages innovation from local private sector entities.
Abt Associates’ UK-funded Partnership for Transforming Health Systems (PATHS2) was well represented at the Nigeria Family Planning Conference in November 2014, where the project collaborated with the Association for the Advancement of Family Planning in Nigeria (AAFP) to bring stakeholders together to discuss key issues related to FP.
Abt has a long history of conducting research in family planning and reproductive health. Some examples include control trials as well as the other studies and publications presented below:
