Number of private sector interventions established, expanded or strengthened that increase the supply of quality family planning products or services to target populations

Number of private sector interventions established, expanded or strengthened that increase the supply of quality family planning products or services to target populations

Number of private sector interventions established, expanded or strengthened that increase the supply of quality family planning products or services to target populations

The number of private sector (PS) interventions in a country or designated region to increase supply of quality family planning (FP) products and services to target populations that have been established, expanded, or strengthened during a specified time period.

Interventions to increase supply can include improved PS models for distribution and services, social marketing programs, introduction of new products, pharmaceutical partnerships, financial incentives, and PS loans and financing (Abt, 2011).

The private sector is defined as all the providers, suppliers, and ancillary and support services that lie outside the public sector. These include commercial or for-profit entities, franchises, multinational corporations, non-profit organizations, community groups, informal vendors, and private providers, such as doctors, pharmacies, and hospital staff (Armand et al., 2007).

FP services should be available to men as well as women and to adolescents (with referral as required), and target populations identified by risk, age group, income levels, and urban/rural location. Quality standards should be based on international guidelines, although these may be adapted on a national basis, and include providing clients with essential information during counseling, eliciting client history, conducting physical examination and monitoring, and providing FP method, follow-up and treatment according to standard protocols (WHO/UNFPA, 2008; Abt, 2005). The basic package of FP methods available should include modern methods (pill, IUD, injection, condom [male and female], spermicides/foam/jelly, diaphragm, vaginal ring, patch, sponge, cervical cap, and emergency contraception) and counseling and/or referrals on fertility awareness methods, postpartum FP, and the lactational amenorrhea method, in addition to referrals for methods requiring higher levels of care, such as implants and sterilization.

This indicator is calculated as:

Total number of PS interventions or programs designed to increase the supply of quality FP products and services that have been established, expanded or strengthened during the past year (or other designated time frame) in a country or specified area.

This is one of the core indicators for Scaling up effective service delivery and distribution of health products and services from the Strengthening Health Outcomes though the Private Sector (SHOPS) Project Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) (Abt, 2009). The updated SHOPS PMP (Abt, 2011) subdivides a corresponding indicator into six categories of interventions for strengthening PS supplies and service delivery. For more details on this and related indicators from the SHOPS project, see Abt (2005); Abt (2009); Abt (2011); and Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (2009).

Data Requirement(s):

An inventory and service review can identify PS organizations, franchises, and other entities that provide FP products and services according to quality standards; reviews of private sector project reports, contacts, and records of agreements with PS provider networks or corporations can provide information on new programs, increased funding, added delivery points, and increases in supplies, services and/or staff. The data can be disaggregated by the type of PS organizations or entities providing services, by the type of intervention and whether the intervention is newly established or has been expanded or strengthened.

If targeting and/or linking to inequity, disaggregate relevant demographic and socioeconomic factors of the type of population targeted related to poverty-related inequities such as location (poor/not poor, urban/rural) and income.

Inventory of PS entities providing FP; project reports; contracts and records of agreements with provider networks or corporations

This indicator measures the establishment or expansion of distribution networks or partnerships that increase the supply of quality FP products and services by the PS. An example model is a PS franchise that sets up or expands service delivery points with recognized quality standards. Moreover, partnerships with multinational corporations that have defined links with local distribution networks can increase supplies of FP products and services. The PS can help increase clients’ access to services and products by a number of means from having convenient hours and locations, maintaining supplies when public sector providers experience stock outs, using generic products to reduce prices, to utilizing alternative approaches, such as mobile units to reach underserved areas. This indicator can provide baseline information and track trends in levels and types of interventions employed to increase PS involvement in FP services. Private partnerships are considered necessary for improving access to FP services and for achieving the Millennium Development Goals to #4 reduce child mortality and #5 improve maternal health, as well as contributing to #8 develop a global partnership for development.

Obtaining a full inventory of and information on PS entities that provide FP services can be problematic in settings where PS providers are not required to register with or report to government agencies, such as the ministry of health. Records and agreements for new interventions may be more clearly identified, whereas it may be difficult to collect the necessary data to distinguish which interventions have been expanded or strengthened.  Given the detailed information needed to accurately calculate this indicator, it may be advisable to assess it for smaller districts or sample areas, rather than for the country or larger regions.

access family planning, private sector

Abt Associates, 2005, Performance Monitoring Indicators for the Private Sector Program (PSP), with Explanatory Notes. Bethesda, MD: Abt Associates, Inc. https://www.shopsplusproject.org/sites/default/files/resources/1081_file_PSP_Perfomance_Monitoring_Indicators_April_1_2005.pdf

Abt Associates, 2009, Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Project:  Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP), Year 1. Bethesda: MD: ABT Asociates, Inc.

Abt Associates, 2011, Updated SHOPS Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP), Bethesda: MD: ABT Asociates, Inc.

Armand F., O’Hanlon B., McEuen M., Kolyada L., and Levin L. March 2007. Private Sector Contribution to Family Planning and Contraceptive Security in the Europe and Eurasia Region. Bethesda, MD: Private Sector Partnerships-One project, Abt Associates Inc.

Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition, 2009, Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition: Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (2007-2015), Brussels: RHSC.

WHO/UNFPA, 2008, National-level monitoring of the achievement of universal access to reproductive health: conceptual and practical considerations and related indicators, Geneva: WHO. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241596831_eng.pdf

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