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Dear colleagues,
A mainstay in the global fight against COVID-19 is the use of data to inform all types of decisions, from how often to get tested, to who should be prioritized for testing, to how quickly to reopen businesses and schools. It is clear that data are critical to the global health community’s efforts to beat COVID-19. Likewise, family planning data have always been critical to the work of the Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) partnership.
Since 2012, FP2020 and its partners have made a concerted effort to improve the availability, quality, and frequency of family planning data by annually reporting country progress on core family planning indicators. During the past eight years, FP2020 has worked with data experts to expand measurement of family planning by (1) improving methodologies for estimation of different indicators and (2) innovating new indicators based on currently available data. The result of this work is the 18 FP2020 Core Indicators.
The annual reporting process allows countries to assess progress on key family planning indicators, and thus informs annual family planning program planning. However, this annual data only provides a national-level view of progress and offers limited visibility into progress in regions, districts, municipalities, or among specific populations. The family planning data community has been working towards improving methodologies to estimate progress at the sub-national level and for sub-populations. Recently, Health Policy Plus, also known as the HP+ Project, along with Track20, created a new and replicable methodology to evaluate key family planning indicators at more local levels.
The new methodology enables us to evaluate if inequities exist for the most disadvantaged groups (e.g. youngest women or least educated women) in various components of family planning programming (e.g. access to services or family planning information dissemination). It ultimately allows us to diagnose where inequities exist and who faces these inequities within a country. While the HP+ Project methodology does not allow for evaluating trends over time, it is a step in the right direction as it lets us assess family planning indicators at more local levels where services are delivered and increasingly more policy decisions are made.
Over the past eight years, we have come a long way as a community and family planning data continues to improve. However, as we look towards the post-2020 partnership, measurement challenges remain, including data on very young adolescents, LGBTI people, and people living in humanitarian settings. In a world where data are increasingly available and prominent, the next partnership should invest in those areas where measurement is lagging.
Shiza Farid, Data Analyst Sesi Aliu, Manager
FEATURED STORIES  Identifying Inequity in Family Planning Programs: A New, Replicable Approach Despite improvements in family planning programs, millions of women are still not receiving quality information and services. Kaja Jurczynska, Demographer at Palladium, explains a new approach to identify inequities and better use Demographic and Health Survey data.
Senegal Leads the Way This “peer assist” was a virtual knowledge exchange and learning activity between Chad and Senegal, organized by the FP2020 Secretariat and the Knowledge SUCCESS project. The virtual session was part of an ongoing series of cross-country sharing and learning activities following the Francophone FP2020 Focal Point Workshop held in Dakar in March 2020. 
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES “Why Family Planning Makes More Sense Now Than Ever Before” Vinit Sharma, Davide De Beni, Annette Sachs Robertson, Federica Maurizio; Journal of Health Management This research article analyzes the possible consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rights of individuals and couples, and seeks to provide justifications for continued national commitment and investments in family planning, especially as the pandemic continues.
Expanding Effective Contraceptive Options: Introducing the Caya Diaphragm in Niger Expanding Effective Contraceptive Options Project, funded by USAID This new program brief shares the key steps taken, lessons learned and initial outcomes of the introduction of the Caya Diaphragm in Niger. The Caya Diaphragm is a self-care, non-hormonal, discreet and reusable barrier method of contraception. The brief is also available in French.
LOOKING AHEAD: WEBINARS Identifying Inequity in Family Planning Programs at National and Subnational Levels: A new, replicable approach Connecting Conversations on AYRH, Session 3: How Social Norms and Cultural Practices Affect and Influence AYRH Advancing Maternal and Newborn Health in Humanitarian Settings Task Sharing Family Planning Services to Increase Health Workforce Efficiency and Expand Access: A Strategic Planning Guide Webinar Nothing for Us Without Us: Prioritizing Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Emergencies Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Globally: Where We Are and Where We’re Going Wilson Center’s Maternal Health Initiative in partnership with Guttmacher Institute August 25, 2020, 10:00 am EDT |
