A special feature from the Digital Health Compendium showcases updates to 16 case studies, all focused on family planning and digital health initiatives. These case studies were originally released as part of the now-dormant mHealth Compendium. In the decade since the launch of the mHealth Compendium, some of the studied initiatives have expanded in scope and scale, while others have become inactive. From looking across the updated case studies, we see seven emerging lessons on sustainability and scalability.
Lesson 1: Ministry Involvement
For sustainability of country-level digital health initiatives for family planning programs, the most critical element is the involvement of the Ministry of Health (MOH). Programs must be approved by, and ideally designed in partnership with, the MOH before implementation. This is especially vital as more countries mandate that digital health tools be hosted, managed, and maintained in-country. In some cases, solutions may be designed with national rollout in mind from the beginning, to ensure that key components are fully integrated into practice standards and government management structures. When changes to funding occur (for example, when a donor-funded project ends), political will and government investment play an essential role in determining whether—and for how long—family planning activities will continue.