Because family planning meets individual and community needs, it can be effectively incorporated into primary health care programs. Most, if not all, methods of contraceptives can be supplied by nonphysicians, including nurses, paramedics, and trained lay workers. Family planning can effectively reduce high maternal and infant mortality rates. When compared with other drugs and surgical proceedures and when compared with childbearing, family planning methods are safe and free from substantial risk of major complications. However, numerous problems, including logistic and economic ones, must be considered in running an effective family planning program. Primary health care includes education, promotion of food supply and proper nutrition, an adequate supply of safe water, basic sanitation, maternal and child care, immunization, prevention and control of locally endemic diseases, and provision of essential drugs. Given limited resources, health services must be based on importance of a given health problem, effectiveness of a given solution, safety of a drug or treatment in the hands of health workers and users, ease of delivery of services, and cost effectiveness. Supplies for family planning need to be available on a regular basis and in sufficient quantity. Their durability must be taken into account. The cost of family planning can be calculated both in terms of relative cost and absolute cost. Relative cost compares the costs of different health care measures within the same primary health care project. Absolute costs are often expressed as cost/year of protection against pregnancy/couple.