With limited domestic funding, a scale back by external donors and ambitious health and health coverage targets, there is an urgent need to develop sustainable financing plans for primary health care, including family planning, in low- and middle-income countries. This need is particularly acute in sub-Saharan Africa, where high fertility rates are coupled with a pronounced unmet need for family planning.
To address this issue, stakeholders from USAID in-country offices, government health and finance departments, and key technical partners and donors came together in January 2018 to:
- Share successes and challenges in achieving sustainable financing for family planning
- Discuss cutting-edge practices and tools to increase domestic resource mobilization, strengthen private-sector engagement, and increase efficiency of family planning resources
- Tailor advocacy approaches to initiate and/or sustain alternative financing approaches for family planning
During this 5-day conference, R4D experts — Chris Atim, senior program director, Nathan Blanchet, program director, Adeel Ishtiaq, senior program officer, and Neetu Hariharan, senior program associate — presented at the following six sessions.
Day 1: Setting the Stage: Developing Mutual Understanding of the Family Planning Financing Challenge
- Session 2: Health Financing Basics
- Presentation by Nathan Blanchet: Introduction to the Family Planning Financing Roadmap
Day 2: Domestic Resource Mobilization for Family Planning
- Session 5: Health Financing Basics
- Presentation by Adeel Ishtiaq: From donor to domestic: Transitions for Family Planning
- Session 6: Towards Greater Domestic Government Investment for Family Planning
- Presentation by Chris Atim: Towards Greater Domestic Resources for Health and Family Planning
- Session 8: Purchasing Family Planning
- Presentation by Nathan Blanchet: Strategic Purchasing for Family Planning: The Basics
Day 4: Strengthening Private-Sector Engagement in Family Planning Services, Supplies, and Financing
- Session 11: Improving Affordability and Quality of Family Planning Services and Supplies in the Private Sector
- Adeel Ishtiaq and Neetu Hariharan’s presentation: Improving Affordability and Quality of Family Planning Services and Supplies in the Private Sector
Day 5: Improving Efficiency in Resource Utilization for Family Planning and Developing Actionable Country Plans for Sustainable Family Planning Financing
- Session 13: Improving the Allocation Process and Budget Execution for Family Planning
- Loyce Chilimsungwi and Adeel Ishtiaq’s presentation: Improving Allocative Efficiency and Budget Execution for Family Planning
