Percent of facilities offering a permanent method of family planning

Percent of facilities offering a permanent method of family planning

Percent of facilities offering a permanent method of family planning

In a specific timeframe (e.g., in the past month or the past three, six, or twelve months), the percent of facilities offering female sterilization/tubal ligation, and/or male sterilization/vasectomy services on site or through periodic visits by a visiting provider.

This indicator is calculated as:

(Number of facilities currently offering a permanent method of family planning [FP] on site/Total number of surveyed facilities eligible to offer permanent methods on site) x 100

Data Requirement(s):

Responses to a facility survey question asking whether or not a facility offers permanent FP services.

The question or questionnaire should specify that the service must be provided onsite rather than as client referrals. Data should be collected separately by method. Evaluators may also want to ask follow up questions about referrals and the number of days that a method is offered to provide more detail about service provision. Example questions are below. For female sterilization consider differentiating between minilap and tubal ligation and/or specify responses by type (e.g. interval, postpartum (<7 days) and, transcesarean). For vasectomy services consider differentiating between vasectomy and no-scalpel vasectomy (NSV).

Main question: Does this facility currently offer _______ services here?

Optional follow-up questions:

  • Routinely, how many days in a week does this facility offer XXX?
  • Are clients referred elsewhere for XXX?

If targeting and/or linking to inequity, classify service delivery points by location (poor/not poor) and disaggregate by location.

Facility survey

This indicator determines the extent to which facilities are providing permanent FP methods to clients. Assessed along with other indicators, it helps programs assess the extent of contraceptive choice. It is also a long-term indication of whether or not a national FP policy which includes long-acting permanent methods (LAPMs) is being implemented.

It is important to note the distinction between whether a site offers a given service (in other words that the service is defined to be part of the site’s constellation of services) and whether a site has the resources it needs to actually carry out a given service at an adequate level of quality. The latter is explored more fully in other LAPM indicators related to availability of infrastructure, supplies, and equipment; provider training; and counseling. A relatively large proportion of interviewees may report that LAPM services are offered, however a significant proportion of these sites may not be currently offering the services because they do not have a provider who has been trained in the provision of that service in the past three years or the site may not have all the appropriate supplies and instruments.

access, long-acting/permanent methods (LAPM), family planning

Related content

Family Planning (Core)

Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services