English  Français

Differentiating local government performance in strengthening and scaling family planning programming: A mixed methods comparative case study

Oluwayemisi Ishola, Kent State University
Emily Das, Population Services International, India
Moussa Faye, IntraHealth
Sarah Jane Holcombe, Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Globally, attempts to meet women’s need for contraception have fallen short - despite the substantial evidence generated over the past several decades about what does work in family planning. Bridging this ‘know-do’ gap - the lag between the identification of effective evidence-based interventions and when they are adopted by governments or other actors – is key. Further, there is growing global recognition that centering the leadership of national and local actors is central to achieving sustained development impacts. The Challenge Initiative (TCI) coaches local governments to rapidly and sustainably scale best-practice family planning and adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health (AYSRH) solutions for the urban poor. After four years, 109 local governments now partner with TCI, reaching an additional 1.48 million family planning users in 11 countries across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. To better understand variation in local government progress and strengthen future performance, we deploy a mixed-methods case study approach using key informant interviews, project records and HMIS data to contrast the processes in higher and lower performing geographies. Data include 86 key informant interviews and project and HMIS records from eight cities in Nigeria, India, Senegal, Benin. We share illustrative findings based on preliminary analysis of Nigeria interviews.

Keywords: Family planning and contraception, Qualitative data/methods/approaches, Urbanization and urban populations

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session 31. Contraceptive Dynamics: Supply Side Issues