The private sector in Nepal is an important source of short-acting reversible contraceptives. It represents a critical opportunity to increase contraceptive access and choice. The Government of Nepal (GON) has emphasized the importance of strengthening social marketing and the private sector (National Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan 2015–2020). Nepal CRS Company (CRS) has introduced contraceptive products and services in the country for almost 50 years. Recent innovations in social marketing, through the use of marketing methods, intend to bring about social and behavioral change to improve citizens' quality of life.
In July 2021, USAID’s Research for Scalable Solutions (R4S) project, led by FHI 360, released the Drug Shop Operators' Provision of Injectable Contraception manual. The handbook shows how drug shop operators can coordinate with the public health system to safely provide an expanded method mix that includes injectables, as well as training for clients on self-injection. The handbook was developed in Uganda in partnership with the National Drug Shop Task Team but can be adapted to various contexts in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Knowledge SUCCESS’ contibuting writer Brian Mutebi talked to Fredrick Mubiru, Family Planning Technical Advisor at FHI 360 and one of the key resource persons involved in the development of the handbook, about its significance and why people should use it.
Working alongside family planning advocates, Jhpiego Kenya applied the nine-step SMART advocacy approach to engage stakeholders in the creation of a new pharmacist training package. The updated curriculum includes that includes instruction on providing contraceptive injectables DMPA-IM and DMPA-SC.
Health care systems across the globe have always been based on a provider-to-client model. However, the introduction of new technology and products, and the increasing ease of access to information, has caused a shift in how health services can be delivered—placing clients at the center of health care. Various health areas, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), have embraced self-care interventions. These methods increase access to and use of essential health services. This is especially important as health care systems become increasingly overburdened, coupled with the urgency to respond to individuals’ and communities’ SRHR needs across all life stages.
FHI 360’s Catherine Packer shares a personal perspective on DMPA-SC’s past ten years, from early research to recent workshops. Since its introduction—and particularly since it became available for self-injection—DMPA-SC has become an important part of the global family planning and reproductive health landscape.
The Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus project is delighted to partner with Knowledge SUCCESS to bring you a curated collection of resources highlighting the importance of the private sector in family planning programming.
Recap of a webinar on high-impact approaches to support the introduction and scale-up of the self-injectable contraceptive DMPA-SC in Francophone family planning programs in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Togo.
Providing women with containers for DMPA-subcutaneous (DMPA-SC) storage and sharps can help to encourage safe self-injection practices at home. Improper disposal in pit latrines or open spaces remains an implementation challenge to safely scaling this popular and highly effective method. With training from health providers and a provided puncture-proof container, self-injection clients enrolled in a pilot study in Ghana were able to appropriately store and dispose of DMPA-SC injectable contraceptives, offering lessons for scale-up.
Recapulatif du webinaire sur les approches à haut impact pour l’introduction et le passage à l’échelle de l'utilisation de la contraception auto-injectable.