Increasing Access, Reducing Barriers, and Improving the Quality of Services

Increasing Access, Reducing Barriers, and Improving the Quality of Services

Family planning (FP) at its most basic is the ability of women, men, and adolescents to make informed, voluntary decisions about the best health care options available to them that directly affect their reproductive goals.

Ensuring access to FP is vital to safe motherhood, healthy families, and prosperous communities. And yet, there are many barriers to FP, including remote or insufficient facilities, inadequate staffing or staff education, cultural and societal perceptions, and lack of knowledge about FP options. There are also gender barriers, and the added pressure of stigma and financial challenges youth face.

The Organized Network of Services for Everyone’s (ONSE) Health Activity FP activities focused on increasing access, reducing barriers, and improving the quality of FP services. ONSE worked with communities to strengthen their capacity and used smart capacity building approaches within facilities to strengthen processes and competencies on the job.