Behind the Numbers: The PRB blog on population, health, and the environment

by Jay Gribble, vice president, International Programs

As the International Family Planning Conference, held in Uganda, comes to a close, Dr. Ward Cates, president of Family Health International, summarized the content, tenor, and tone of the conference in 10 “pearls.” I found his reference to pearls to be an appropriate comparison; while Uganda is referred to as the “Pearl of Africa,”pearls are formed by a grain on sand creating an irritation within an oyster.

1. Policies related to family planning need to be better implemented so that they reach those women who either don’t want any more children or want to postpone having children for a few years, but are not using family planning.  Linked to meeting this need is the importance of family planning in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
2. Long acting and permanent methods are increasingly playing a more important role in programs because short-acting methods pose challenges in correct use and are subject so supply shortages.
3. New contraceptive technologies are needed—including low-cost methods and products that provide dual protection from HIV/AIDS and unplanned pregnancy.
4. Service delivery needs to gain better community buy-in and involvement in distribution, including community-based participation and increased awareness through media.
5. Commodities are in stock more often because of better collaboration between partners—and this results in better service delivery; creative multi-tier pricing strategies are also contributing to a wider range of service delivery points to meet the need of women and couples.
6. The integration of family planning and HIV services appears to be reaching a tipping point in some countries as local, national, and international decisionmakers recognize its value. 
7. The integration of family planning into other types of services—postpartum care, immunizations clinics, and primary health care—provide important strategies for expanding access to family planning services.
8. The financing and costs associated with family planning programs remains a challenge.  However, the total cost of addressing family planning and reproductive health on a global basis is less that what is spent over 10 days on military actions worldwide. 
9. Youth and men need to be addressed more explicitly. Vasectomy is becoming more popular, but there are still many taboos to overcome for it to be accepted more broadly. Similarly, language associate with family planning needs to be reconsidered so that it better appeals to men’s ways of looking at issues.
10. We know what we need to do—we need to do more of it.  Better collaboration, better harmonization, and less duplication of efforts are all part of the way forward.

Ward’s pearls resonate with what has been discussed at the conference.  His comments came at the beginning of last day of the conference, which focuses on using research findings to improve programs.  For many of these pearls to come to fruition, advocates, program manages, policy makers, media, and the public will need to be vocal, use evidence to make their case, and hold governments accountable. Just like the grain of sand in the oyster, we need to better raise awareness about the health and development benefits of family planning to make sure these pearls fully develop.

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