Population and Reproductive Health in National Adaptation Programs of Action

This paper reviews 41 National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) submitted by Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and identifies the range of interventions included in countries' priority adaptation actions. The review found near-universal recognition among the NAPAs of the importance of population considerations as a central pillar in climate change adaptation

Linking Population, Fertility and Family Planning with Adaptation to Climate Change: Views from Ethiopia

As global climate change unfolds, its effects are being felt disproportionately in the world's poorest countries and among the groups of people least able to cope. Many of the countries hardest hit by the effects of climate change also face rapid population growth, with their populations on track to double by 2050.Population Action International (PAI) and Miz-Hasab Research Center (MHRC), in collaboration with the Joint Global Change Research Institute (JGCRI), studied which groups are most vulnerable, what community members say they need to adapt, and the role of family planning and reproductive health in increasing resilience to climate change impacts.The study was carried out in 2008-2009 in peri-urban and rural areas of two regions in Ethiopia: the Oromia region and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's (SNNP) region

A Practical Guide to Integrating Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS into Grant Proposals to the Global Fund

Integrating RH and HIV can greatly contribute to mitigating the AIDS pandemic by reducing unintended pregnancy; preventing perinatal transmission; expanding to more target groups; reducing gender based violence; meeting the needs of people living with HIV and providing our youth with the knowledge and services they need. Whether to integrate, how to integrate and exactly what to integrate will depend on a country's epidemiological profile, policies and program structures.Experience with implementation of integration initiatives in countries around the world shows that scale up and sustainability requires attention to policy and program operations issues. This document, with links to a range of resources, will help CCMs, civil society organizations and others developing proposals for the Global Fund that contribute to preventing HIV and mitigating the effects of the AIDS pandemic through programs that link and integrate RH and HIV/AIDS

Expanding the role of research evidence in family planning policy, program, and practice decisionmaking

This working paper focuses on the emerging knowledge translation literature to provide lessons learned on ways to increase the role that evidence plays in decision-making for family planning and reproductive health policies, programs, and practices. It is part of a larger synthesis of the literature that explores what “evidence” means, what types of evidence policymakers, program managers, and implementers seek when facing implementation decisions, and how evidence relates to other factors that influence decision-making. This paper and the larger synthesis are based on a literature search whose objective was to locate references on evidence-based policy in health or social science, knowledge transfer, translation or utilization for health or social science programs, evidence collected from “intervention studies” in family planning programs, and “implementation science” for family planning and reproductive health. The literature search included databases, individual websites, and reviews of bibliographies. References were limited to 2000–2014 in the database searches; snowballing of materials goes back to the 1990s, and in some cases earlier, to capture earlier literature on research utilization in family planning and seminal writing on research utilization

Proposed indicators to measure adherence to and effects of rights-based family planning: Resource guide

At the London Summit on Family Planning in 2012, the goal of expanding access to FP programs by 120 million additional women and girls by 2020 was established. This goal calls attention to the need for FP information and services to be delivered in ways that are voluntary and respect human rights. While human rights have been codified and affirmed in declarations, conventions, and treaties, operationalizing rights in FP programs is still in an early stage of development. With the recent emergence of global numeric benchmarks for FP programs, there is the risk that the focus will move away from these rights. The Evidence Project has taken the lead on compiling indicators of human rights and FP based on recommendations from global stakeholders. The Proposed Indicators of Human Rights and Family Planning table found in this resource guide is helping Uganda operationalize the rights language in its Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan. The table is an important resource in helping countries or organizations move from rights principles embodied in planning documents to monitoring adherence to and effects of rights-based approaches to FP

How Do Recent Population Trends Matter To Climate Change?

Population growth is one of the driving forces behind the growth of greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, along with economic growth and technological change. Rapid population growth also hinders socioeconomic development and increases human vulnerability to the devastating impacts of climate change. Population Action International's new working paper "How Do Recent Population Trends Matter to Climate Change?" is the first in a three-part series that will deepen understanding of the relationships between population and climate change

Rights-based family planning: 10 resources to guide programming

The FP2020 goal of providing FP services to 120 million more women and girls that emerged from the 2012 London Summit on Family Planning refocused attention on the need to ensure that FP programs respect, protect, and fulfill human rights. The current challenge is how to operationalize human rights in existing FP programs and new projects. This resource guide reviews ten key resources available to guide programming—FP2020: Rights and Empowerment Principles for Family Planning; Ensuring Human Rights in the Provision of Contraceptive Information and Services, Ensuring Human Rights Within Contraceptive Service Delivery: Implementation Guide; Voluntary Family Planning Programs that Respect, Protect, and Fulfill Human Rights: A Conceptual Framework; Voluntary Family Planning Programs That Respect, Protect, and Fulfill Human Rights: Conceptual Framework Users’ Guide; Checkpoints for Choice: An Orientation and Resource Package; A Human Rights-Based Approach to Programming: Practical Implementation Manual and Training Material; The Right to Contraceptive Information and Services for Women and Adolescents: Briefing Paper; Voluntary Family Planning Programs that Respect, Protect, and Fulfill Human Rights: A Systematic Review of Tools; Handbook for National Human Rights Institutions: Reproductive Rights are Human Rights

Resilience and community response to climate-related events: Case studies from four countries

It is important for governments, aid organizations, and researchers to understand how developing communities respond to climate change and how their efforts can be improved within a framework of resilience thinking. This review explores the definition of resilience and, more specifically, community resilience and its components, then presents four case studies of community response to extreme weather events to illustrate community resilience in action. The review is intended to provide context for and inform more detailed exploration of community resilience in integrated programming (specifically, programming designed to improve health, environment, and population outcomes). It is also intended to capture references to population dynamics and family planning in the literature on community resilience, but is not intended as a definitive guide to the links between community resilience and health or family planning

Standard Days Method of contraception: Evidence on use, implementation, and scale up

In 2002, an article in Contraception reported on a trial for a new method of contraception, the Standard Days Method (SDM). SDM is a fertility awareness-based family planning (FP) method that identifies the eighth through nineteenth days of a woman’s menstrual cycle as the fertile window. SDM users abstain or use barrier methods during their fertile periods to prevent pregnancy. The trial established a first-year method failure rate of 5 per 100 woman years with correct use, and 12 per 100 women for typical use. Over the decade since the publication of the original efficacy trial, the Georgetown University Institute for Reproductive Health and other organizations have introduced and scaled up SDM in a number of countries to expand method access and use for women with unmet contraceptive needs. This working paper reviews the published peer-reviewed and grey literature on SDM from more than a decade of research. The evidence demonstrates the feasibility of integrating SDM into national or subnational FP service delivery, and documents experiences of scaling up SDM in five countries: DRC, Guatemala, India, Mali, and Rwanda

Family planning policy, program, and practice decisionmaking: The role of research evidence and other factors

Current attention to increasing access to family planning has increased focus on ensuring that policy, programming, and practice are “evidence-based.” This paper seeks to answer when, what types, and how evidence is used in decision-making related to family planning. Views of what constitutes evidence need to be more aligned: researchers should understand that “evidence-based” does not only mean “research evidence-based” to decision-makers; and decision-makers must understand the value of robust research evidence among other evidence they consider when making decisions. Decision-makers appreciate research but it is only one factor they take into consideration—and may not be the most influential factor in their decision-making. Research findings tend to be filtered through decision-makers’ values and beliefs in addition to political, economic, and social considerations. Examples from the family planning field reinforce the persistence of other factors affecting decision-making. A number of promising interventions show that research evidence, vis a vis other factors, can inform decision-making. Expecting policy or program change from single studies is mostly unrealistic, but examples from decades of family planning programming described in this paper illustrate the incremental influence of evidence from research on family planning policies and programs