Media Contact: Laurel Lundstrom, llundstrom@pathfinder.org
Maputo, Mozambique, July 27, 2021 — USAID awarded Pathfinder International $40,500,000 to improve maternal and child health in Mozambique by increasing the use of voluntary family planning (FP) services. The USAID/Mozambique Improved Family Planning Initiative (IFPI) will take place across Nampula, Sofala, and in selected districts of the Zambezia province.
For five years, Pathfinder will work in partnership with N’weti Comunicação para Saúde, Mulher Lei e Desenvolvimento (MULEIDE), Núcleo Das Associações Femininas Da Zambézia (NAFEZA), Coalizão, Abt Associates, and Population Services International (PSI) to leverage lessons learned and successes from IFPP and accelerate impact at scale.
IFPI will address barriers to reproductive health through individual and community connections, family planning service points, and removing policy and institutional barriers to care. IFPI’s approaches include:
- Building the technical/management capacity of government and local partners.
- Shifting gender and social norms by reaching vulnerable populations, men, and couples.
- Scaling up age- and context-appropriate high-impact practices (HIPs)/evidence-based interventions (EBIs).
- Intentionally engaging youth in the design, implementation, and monitoring of HIPs/EBIs.
- Strengthening cross-sectoral action to support adolescent/youth interventions.
IFPI will build on the work of Pathfinder’s Integrated Family Planning Program (IFPP). Between 2016 and 2021, IFPP expanded access to FP information, counseling, and services by improving the knowledge and skills of traditional birth attendants, community health workers, and interpersonal communication agents to address the myths and misconceptions about FP in urban and rural areas. IFPP reached women with a high unmet need for FP, with 3.9 million women initiating contraceptive use and 4.8 million couples protected against pregnancy during the program.
Ultimately, IFPI will work to expand access to and improve the quality of health services, and promote gender equality and equity, social inclusion, and protection of the most vulnerable segments of the population.
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About Pathfinder International
Pathfinder International has been working in Mozambique since 1997, helping to ensure that women, girls, boys, and men have the information and services they require to lead healthy reproductive lives. Our work over the years has traversed the length and breadth of the country. We have worked with the government, community-based organizations, the private sector, faith-based institutions, and communities to build capacity and strengthen health systems. For more information about Pathfinder and its work in Mozambique.
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