Supportive Policies

© 2001 CCP, Courtesy of Photoshare

Family planning programs need high-level support to operate successfully. Supportive policies, statutes, and regulations, at both the national and operational level, lay groundwork for family planning service delivery. Operational policies—also known as “service delivery policies”—are the link between national policy and service delivery performance. While national policies often describe what should be done, operational policies often explain how it should be done and establish systems for delivering services. Advocacy efforts with a focus on the benefits of family planning can build political will, support, and commitment to high quality family planning service delivery.

To browse resources on policy development and advocacy, click on one of the links below:

   International Guidelines to Assist Policy Development

   Policy Tools

   Operational Policies

   Advocating Policies

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Interviews with Family Planning Experts (5 resources)

Included in this section of the Toolkit are a series of audio and video interviews with family planning experts discussing the importance of supportive government policies to the success of family planning programs. Specifically, interviewees talk about establishing partnerships with government to enable effective family planning programming; understanding religious factors associated with family planning and Islam's role in family planning programming; reasons why government should support family planning; and challenges to government involvement in family planning programs and how to navigate through these barriers.

    International Guidelines to Assist Policy Development

    Policy Tools

    Operational Policies

      Analysis of the Operational Policy Barriers to Financing and Procuring Contraceptives in Malawi
      2008 | USAID | DELIVER PROJECT | 34 p
      Contraceptive security exists when every person can choose, obtain, and use high-quality contraceptives whenever they need them. Two of the most important factors in achieving contraceptive security are adequate financing and efficient contraceptive procurement mechanisms. The USAID | Health Policy Initiative and USAID | DELIVER Project are working together to develop a methodology for identifying operational policy barriers in the financing and procurement of family planning (FP) products.
      [read more >]
      Understanding Operational Barriers to Family Planning Services in Conflict-Affected Countries: Experiences From Sierra Leone
      2008 | USAID | Health Policy Initiative, Task Order 1, Futures Group International | 50 p
      This study investigates barriers affecting access to family planning in conflict-affected settings and provides policy recommendations. Because of the severe social instability that they experience, refugee/IDP women are likely to have irregular access to family planning and little control over their sexual encounters. These factors place women in conflict situations at an increased risk for unintended pregnancies, poorly spaced or high-risk pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs)/HIV.
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      Reforming Operational Policies: A Pathway to Improving Reproductive Health Programs
      2001 | POLICY Project | 36 p
      This paper focuses on the arena between national policies and the point of service delivery, which is the domain of operational policies. It discusses the nature of operational policies, stresses the important role they play in the continuum from national decrees to local services, and provides a framework for operational policy reform.
      [read more >]

    Advocating Policy

      A call for a family planning surge
      2012 | International Centre for Reproductive Health | 5 p
      In 1994, the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo, Egypt, laid out in its Programme of Action an impressive and ambitious set of goals for improving sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) all over the world, by the target date of 2015 (International Conference on Population and Development 1994). One of these goals was the provision of universal access to a full range of safe and reliable family -planning methods.
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      Making Research Findings Actionable: A Quick Reference to Communicating Health Information for Decision-Making
      2009 | MEASURE Evaluation | 8 p
      English
      This 8-page reference guide is a helpful tool to use when thinking about how best to convey health information so that staekholders are able to make sound policy, advocacy, planning and programmatic decisions.
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      Long-Acting and Permanent Methods: Addressing Unmet Need for Family Planning in Africa
      2008 | Family Health International [FHI] | 26 p
      This package can help inform policy-makers, program managers, and donors on the benefits of and approaches for introducing or revitalizing long-acting and permanent methods (LAPMs) within national reproductive health and family planning programs in Africa.
      [read more >]
      Mobilising Communities on Young People’s Health and Rights: An Advocacy Toolkit and Training Guide
      2008 | Family Care International [FCI] | 97 p., 123 p
      This toolkit leads the user through the stages of planning and launching an advocacy campaign to ensure that government commitments are translated into programs that meet young people’s sexual and reproductive health needs. Adaptable to any number of other social and development priorities, such as maternal health, gender-based violence, and child marriage, the Toolkit also provides prototype worksheets and other tools at the end of each chapter.
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      Mobilizing Political Support and Resources for Family Planning in a Decentralized Setting: Guidelines for LAC Countries
      2008 | USAID | Health Policy Initiative, Task Order 1, Futures Group International | 52 p
      This paper presents some case studies of and guidelines for strengthening the policy environment for family planning (FP) in Latin American countries undergoing decentralization. The intended audiences are policymakers, program planners, and specialists in government and civil society organizations, including nongovernmental organizations working in family planning. The guidelines draw on literature on the decentralization of health systems in Latin America and on research findings garnered through key informant interviews in Bolivia and Mexico.
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      Repositioning Family Planning: Guidelines for Advocacy Action
      2008 | Academy for Educational Development [AED]; World Health Organization | 64 p
      English |
      French
      This 64-page guide provides assistance to those working in family planning across Africa to effectively advocate for renewed emphasis on family planning to enhance the visibility, availability, and quality of family planning services.
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      Final Report: Getting Research into Policy and Practice (GRIPP)
      2007 | Population Council | 35 p
      The GRIPP case studies were completed by researchers and documented the activities they undertook to maximise the impact of their research. The structure for these case studies evolved from a workshop held in 2001 at the University of Southampton and a subsequent on-line conference on ‘Bridging research and policy’. The GRIPP project was a partnership between Population Council, John Snow International (Europe) and two DFID funded research programmes, Opportunities and Choices and Safe Passages to Adulthood.
      [read more >]
      Making Family Planning Part of the PRSP Process: A Guide for Incorporating FP into Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
      2007 | USAID | Health Policy Initiative, Task Order 1, Futures Group International | 64 p
      This guide is designed to help family planning champions -- including civil society and NGOs, international and donor organizations, and interested government officials -- and other stakeholders promote the inclusion of family planning issues and programs into Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). Countries prepare PRSPs to qualify for loans and debt relief from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
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      Advocacy Tools and Guidelines: Promoting Policy Change
      2001 | CARE | 11, 30, 32, 38, 18p
      Advocacy is a strategy to influence policy makers when they make laws and regulations, distribute resources, and make other decisions that affect peoples' lives. The principal aims of advocacy are to create policies, reform policies, and ensure policies are implemented. There are a variety of advocacy strategies, such as discussing problems directly with policy makers, delivering messages through the media, or strengthening the ability of local organizations to advocate.
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