Centre for African Family Studies

CAFS was selected to design and coordinate the ESD’s Knowledge Sharing Conference, from May 11^th to the 13^th 2010 in Nairobi. The Extended Service Delivery (ESD) Project in a collaborative effort between Intrahealth International, Management Sciences for Health, Pathfinder, and Meridian Group International that aimed to increase access to reproductive health (RH) and family planning (FP) services in fifteen countries (nine of which are located in sub-Saharan Africa). The conference brought together eighty participants from over 20 countries including a delegation from the Burundian Ministry of Health. The purpose of the conference was to bring together the various stakeholders (USAID representatives, UN and WHO representatives, Ministries of Health, International NGOs, and Local Civil Society and NGOs) and identify specific policies and procedures that African institutions and governments could take up to improve access to Family Planning (FP) and Reproductive Health (RH) services.  This would work to ensure the continuation of the project objectives as well as ensure that the experiences and knowledge gained from the project would not be lost. In order to effectively initiate the conference, CAFS worked alongside the project stakeholders to identify a number of lessons and evidence-based practices that can be adopted for wider implementation. Some of the recommendations that evolved from the conference included 1) the need for programs to collaborate with religious leaders, 2) the need for programs to focus on improving male involvement in FP, 3) the need for increased support among governments for community-based distribution, and 4) refocus on the use of natural family planning methods (such as the calendar method) in communities that are sensitive to contraception. In addition to this, the conference identified the need to focus further on improving access to FP and RH services for hard-to-reach populations in both rural and urban locations. To further disseminate the knowledge gained from the conference, three media events were held in Nairobi to showcase the achievements of the ESD project and to advocate government and civil society support for comprehensive FP and RH services.