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Regulation of Drug Shops and Pharmacies Relevant to Family Planning: A Scan of 32 Developing Countries

Private pharmacies and drug shops play an important role in providing family planning and other priority health services in many countries. Before designing programs to strengthen and expand this role, donors and implementing partners must first understand what is allowed within the current legal and regulatory framework. The SHOPS Plus project documented the policies, laws, and regulations that shape how pharmacies and drug shops operate and what modern family planning methods they can provide in 32 USAID priority countries. This report presents the result of that scan and discusses key findings that emerged across countries.