Repositioning in Action E-Bulletin
December 2007
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Including Family Planning Programs in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), which highlight a country’s development priorities and needs for donor support, are an underutilized mechanism for obtaining resources for family planning programs. An analysis of 45 PRSPs in 2005 found that while most mentioned family planning, only 11 included specific information on financing or programming. By including family planning in PRSPs, countries demonstrate their commitment to funding and implementing family planning programs. However, to effectively advocate for the inclusion of the financing and programming of family planning programs in PRSPs, supporters need to understand the process through which the PRSPs are developed and monitored.
Through its Health Policy Initiative and BRIDGE Project, USAID supported the development of two tools to assist family planning champions – including civil society and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), international and donor organizations, and interested government officials – to promote the inclusion of family planning issues and programs in PRSPs.
- Making Family Planning Part of the PRSP Process: A Guide for Incorporating Family Planning Programs Into Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
Family planning is an effective strategy to slow population growth and reduce demographic pressure, assisting countries with poverty reduction. Reduced population size means decreased burden on national expenditures for education, health, and other social services, as well as less strain on the environment. The guide describes key entry points where family planning champions and their allies can participate in and influence the PRSP process in the Diagnosis, Formulation, Implementation, and Monitoring phases.
Diagnosis
Each PRSP includes a description of the country’s poverty situation. It is crucial for individuals working in family planning to take part in the poverty analysis phase of the process because future policy and budget decisions will be based on this analysis.
Formulation
This is the point where the objectives and primary approaches of the country’s national development plan are determined. In formulating the PRSP, family planning champions should ensure that:
- Population and family planning issues are included in the poverty diagnosis
- Family planning-related objectives are clearly established
- Family planning is adopted as a key poverty reduction strategy
- Effective policies and approaches to satisfying family planning needs, particularly for the poor, are outlined
- A budget line item for family planning is included if it does not already exist
- Family planning indicators are included in the monitoring plan
Implementation
Efforts to link family planning and poverty reduction do not end with the completion of the PRSP, as inclusion of a policy or activity in the PRSP does not mean it will be implemented. To facilitate effective implementation, family planning champions must help ensure that the government and other implementing partners are accountable for the commitments made in the PRSPs.
Monitoring
In the three to five years between approval of the PRSP and submission of the next PRSP, governments must submit Annual Progress Reports (APRs) to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. It is important to ensure that family planning issues and outcomes are reflected in the APRs. The Monitoring Phase will flow into the Diagnosis Phase for the next PRSP, and the cycle will begin again if the country is interested in seeking additional loans and debt relief.
In addition, the guide offers the case study of Mali’s PRSP II process. The lessons learned from the Mali process helped to inform the creation of this guide.
Read more on how to influence the Diagnosis, Formulation, Implementation, and Monitoring phases of the PRSP development process.
- Addressing Population in Poverty Reduction Strategies
This four-page policy brief summarizes Making Family Planning Part of the PRSP Process: A Guide for Incorporating Family Planning Programs Into Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. It provides background information about PRSPs and their functions, explains the PRSP development process, and advances the argument for including family planning into poverty reduction strategies. The brief outlines the main reasons for countries to invest in family planning programs to accelerate poverty reduction.
Read the brief and get more information on including family planning programs in PRSPs.
Need More Information on Including Family Planning in PRSPs?
Three Country Examples
Few country strategies identify a specific budget line item for family planning because it is usually incorporated in public sector maternal and child health services. But in Bangladesh, where the government has been concerned about a leveling-off of contraceptive use, the PRSP mentions the “subsidized provision of birth control supplies” as part of the poverty reduction strategy. Based on assessments done before the development of the strategy, there is a specific focus on family planning in the “essential services package” of the health sector plan.1
The PRSP for Ghana, 2006 to 2009, includes a section titled “Population Management” that discusses the strong relationship between population growth and poverty. It identifies five program priorities, including promoting access to and use of family planning services (including detailed, decentralized actions for making counseling and contraceptives available) and promoting sexual health and delaying marriage and childbearing.2
Mali’s first PRSP, submitted in 2003, noted the need to slow population growth but did not specifically mention family planning as a health service that needed attention. In 2006, USAID teamed with an in-country NGO network to promote the inclusion of family planning into Mali’s second-generation PRSP. At the time of this e-bulletin’s distribution, Mali’s PRSP is still being finalized.3
Adapted from Addressing Population In Poverty Reduction Strategies, Ashford, Lori, 2007.
References
1 Caroline Quijada, Tania Dmytraczenko, Beaura Mensah, Ensuring Contraceptive Security Within New Development Mechanisms [PDF, 159KB], (Bethesda, MD: Abt Associates, Partners for Health Reform plus, 2004): 12-13.
2 Republic of Ghana, Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II 2006-2009) [PDF, 1.1MB], National Development Planning Commission, November 2005, accessed at www.worldbank.org on August 3, 2007.
3 USAID| Health Policy Initiative, Making Family Planning Part of the PRSP Process [PDF, 508KB], July 2007. |
Additional Resources:
We Want to Tell Your Repositioning Story
Please contact Carmen Coles at ccoles@usaid.gov with your successes in family planning programming.
For more information on Repositioning Family Planning, please contact Alexandra Todd at atodd@usaid.gov or Carmen Coles at ccoles@usaid.gov.
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