Almost 75% of the 880 million women worldwide who report wishing to avoid or delay pregnancy are currently using a modern contraceptive method. However, the remaining 25%- more than 225 million women- still have an unmet need for family planning.1
Reproductive health and family planning services help ensure the health of families, reduce poverty and bolster the economy at the local and national level by enabling women to join the workforce, and alleviate the pressures of an increasing population on limited natural resources.
Action
The Manoff Group works on a range of activities in reproductive health, including family planning, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, adolescent reproductive health, and female genital cutting. We’ve conducted formative research and applied our TIPs approach [LINK TO TIPs page] to understand behavior related to sexual activity and HIV prevention, to identify viable opportunities for changing detrimental behaviors, and to design and implement effective social and behavior change through communication materials, mass media, counseling, training, and many other activities.
Change
In Albania [LINK TO https://manoffgroup.com/documents/programbrief-AFPP_000.pdf], the national total fertility rate was about 1.9, with a national modern contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) of about 13%, when TMG started implementing the Albania Family Planning Project.
After conducting both quantitative and innovative qualitative research, including a small TIPs, TMG designed a national campaign of televised advertisements and talk shows, which was supplemented by an outreach negotiation counseling approach for two pilot districts.
An endline survey revealed that nearly 80% of the national sample had seen at least one TV spot and could repeat at least one message without prompting, and in the two pilot districts, the CPR rose from an average of 8% to an average of 61% . In one pilot area, 65% of couples visited by a nurse-midwife accepted a modern family planning method.