As part of the Mobilization Initiative for Access to Contraception for All (IMPACT) project, Equipop accompanied Pathfinder's new president in mid-March to meet with decision-makers and project stakeholders in the field. In Niger, IMPACT supports the 2013–2020 National Family Planning Action Plan, which aims to achieve a contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) of 50% by 2020.
Beyond presenting the actions undertaken as part of the project, Equipop's objective was to strengthen the complementarity between advocacy for an environment conducive to family planning (FP) and the effective provision of FP services in the community. It was also a matter of reminding regional health authorities of their commitment to work in synergy with all FP stakeholders at the regional level to ensure that young people and adolescents have access to contraceptive products.
A 38% jump in TPC in seven years to win the 2020 challenge
Investing in family planning is crucial to improving socio-demographic and health indicators, which remain very low in Niger.
With a contraceptive prevalence rate of 12% according to the 2012 Demographic and Health Survey, achieving Niger's target of 50% by 2020 requires the synergistic efforts of all stakeholders (the state, ministries, development partners, traditional leaders, CSOs) to take concerted action in favor of FP.
In order to support the government in implementing its FP action plan, Pathfinder International and Equipop have been implementing the IMPACT project in two regions of the country (Dosso and Zinder) since 2014. IMPACT works to increase the availability and use of long-acting reversible contraceptive methods at the community level, as well as to strengthen the Ministry of Health's capacity to manage FP performance.
It was this initiative and project that Pathfinder's new CEO chose for her first mission. " I decided that my first field visit would be to Niger to see firsthand the achievements of Pathfinder International and its partners in promoting family planning, to learn from you, and to commend the excellent collaboration between partners in promoting FP," Lois Quam said during a meeting.
Collaboration between partners to promote FP is bearing fruit
The project team, including two people from Equipop, accompanied by the new President of Pathfinder, went to meet with public health officials from the Dosso region and district, as well as IMPACT project implementers and beneficiaries. In these localities, young married women who are regularly supervised by the project facilitators are informed about FP, as are their husbands. The latter accompany their wives to health facilities for pre- and post-natal consultations and counseling sessions leading to the choice of a contraceptive method.
For regional public health officials, the project's interventions in the Dosso region range from training activities in contraceptive techniques for health care providers to coaching activities for the provision of long-acting contraceptive methods. One of the project's areas of support also focuses on the provision of medical equipment and vehicles for the delivery of FP services through a mobile strategy in order to reach populations that are furthest from health centers. According to the head of the Dosso Health District, there has already been an increase in contraceptive prevalence, with the rate rising from 6% in 2014 to 14% in 2015 and 20% at the end of 2016.
During the meeting with the Sultan of Dosso, the Governor of the Region assured us that "the local administrative authorities, namely the prefects of the departments benefiting from the project's interventions, will do their utmost to monitor the actions undertaken," before calling for increased funding for the project to benefit the entire population of his region.
For the various actors involved in family planning, actions are continuing with the next steps for Equipop, for example, being the formalization of coordination mechanisms in the Dosso region, as well as in Zinder.
