Per contraceptive method, percent sourced from the private sector

Per contraceptive method, percent sourced from the private sector

Per contraceptive method, percent sourced from the private sector

The percent of each contraceptive method obtained from private sector (PS) sources in a country or designated area during a specified time period.

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).

This indicator is calculated as:

(Number of each contraceptive method obtained from PS sources / Total number of  the same contraceptive method available from all sources, including public, private, non-governmental, and community-based) x 100

This is a subset of the indicator, Percent of contraceptives available from the PS.  It is closely related to the indicators for Improved market segmentation, viability, and sustainability in the expanded Strengthening Health Outcomes though the Private Sector (SHOPS) Project (Abt, 2009) and the indicator for Increased non-public share of the market for condoms, pills, and injectables in the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework of the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC, 2009). For more details on this and related indicators, see Abt (2009) Abt (2011); Abt (2005); and RHSC (2009).

Data Requirement(s):

Number of contraceptive methods available from all sources. Where the data are available, the indicator can be disaggregated by the type of PS facility or program (commercial for-profit, non-profit organization, franchise, community groups, etc.), and by other relevant factors such as users’ sex, age groups, income quintiles and urban/rural location.

Population-based surveys that collect information on contraceptive users’ sources of methods, such as the Demographic Health survey (DHS) and the Centers for Disease Control Reproductive Health Survey (RHS)

This indicator estimates the PS market share for provision of each contraceptive method and the PS contribution to increasing access to these methods. As the availability and utilization of services can be quite different for each method, it is important for ministries of health, donors, and contractors to know what products are obtained through the PS and their market share. Given the importance of the private sector in providing contraceptive methods, effective approaches for monitoring PS market segmentation and sustainability of contraceptive supplies and distribution are essential. This indicator can be used for policy and planning purposes to track strengthening and scale-up of contraceptive supplies and services in the PS, in addition to identifying gaps and problems with PS service delivery for specific contraceptive methods. Strengthening PS involvement and sustainability in providing quality contraceptive methods and services is considered essential to achieving the Millennium Development Goals to #4 reduce child mortality and #5 improve maternal health.

Data from population-based surveys may introduce recall bias because women and men may not remember or know whether they obtained their most recent contraceptive methods from public or private sources. This indicator measures the sources of contraceptive methods through the PS, but the overall access to, distribution of, and quality of PS services can best be measured using a range of indicators that provide data on method procurement, storage, affordability, travel time to PS outlets, staffing, delivery of method services and follow-up, and client utilization and satisfaction (WHO, 2010).

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

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