When public health officials make decisions, they are faced with competing demands on financial resources, conflicting interests, and the imperative to meet national health goals. Decision-makers need tools to help them establish a healthy market, particularly in resource-constrained settings. SHOPS Plus found this to be the case in a recent activity in Tanzania, where their ultimate goal was to engage all the actors in Tanzania’s health market, public and private, to ensure proper targeting of investments and meet the health needs of all Tanzanians.
The chronicle of Malawi’s rapid, efficient introduction of self-injected subcutaneous DMPA (DMPA-SC) into the method mix is a model of teamwork and coordination. Although this process typically takes about 10 years, Malawi achieved it in fewer than three. Self-injected DMPA-SC epitomizes the ideal of self-care by empowering women to learn how to inject themselves, and has the added benefit of helping clients avoid busy clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Injectables are the most popular family planning method in Uganda but, until recently, were offered only by community health workers and at health facilities and hospitals. In contrast, the country’s 10,000 drug shops, which provide greater access in hard-to-reach rural areas, were authorized to supply only short-acting, nonprescription methods. FHI 360 supported the government of Uganda in training drug shop operators to offer injectables as well.
How can self-care measures better equip us to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic? Guest contributors from PSI and Jhpiego offer insight and guidance.