MOMEMTUM Integrated Health Resilience, under USAID’s New Partnership Initiative, supported five local organizations in Niger from July 2023 to September 2024 to enhance local organizational and technical capacity to scale and sustain equitable access to family planning services. This brief describes the adopted approach, process, and results achieved. It highlights the steps taken to strengthen the technical capacity of Nigerien partners to effectively design, adapt, and implement evidence-based practices for family planning/reproductive health programming that are locally relevant. Drawing on MIHR’s implementation experience in Niger, this brief concludes with lessons learned and recommendations to advance locally led development in fragile settings.
In the face of recurring shocks from insecurity, floods, and disease outbreaks and the erosion of trust in public services, health systems in fragile settings rely increasingly upon non-state actors to maintain access to equitable, quality health information and services. Leveraging local knowledge, social capital, and community trust, local non-state actors enhance delivery of essential information and services to achieve health and development goals. As locally led development models for development are increasingly promoted, working with local organizations to strengthen implementation and technical skills to effectively implement evidence-based programming is key to delivering quality services at scale.
Under MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience (MIHR), Pathfinder contributed towards USAID’s New Partnerships Initiative goals by collaborating with local organizations in Niger to strengthen their organizational, technical, and financial capacities. This brief describes the capacity strengthening approach, summarizes results, and highlights how MIHR applied locally led development principles. It also shares lessons learned and recommendations for working alongside local organizations to improve capacity to implement resilient, evidence-based family planning programs in fragile settings.
