Resource Library

Enhancing Equity and Sustainability of Public-Sector Family Planning

PATH has received a grant from the Fred H. Bixby Foundation to enhance equitable and sustained access to family planning by strengthening country-led, public-sector decision-making within a total market context. A whole or total market approach has been defined as “a coordinated approach that responds to the multiplicity of family planning needs in a country…[and] ensures that the entire market of clients—from those who require free supplies to those who can and will pay for commercial products—is covered.” Over a three-year period (2009–2011), PATH will work with governments in Nicaragua and Vietnam to develop operational plans for public-sector contraceptive distribution to targeted market segments. PATH will also strengthen public-private dialogue around family planning service delivery—including for the poorest populations—and collaborate actively with private-sector initiatives. Lessons learned will be disseminated to promote widespread readiness for a country-led decision-making approach that draws on the total family planning market. Additional project briefs on Nicaragua, Vietnam, the total market approach, and country-led decision-making are available at http://www.path.org/publications/detail.php?i=1695.