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DownloadA Health Systems Approach to Improving Immediate Postpartum Family Planning Uptake
Uganda has made progress expanding access to modern contraception, but persistent health system gaps continue to limit the quality and reach of family planning services, including during the critical period following pregnancy. This brief examines how the Empowering Women for Better Reproductive Health Outcomes (EMPOWER) programme used continuous quality improvement (CQI) to support district health teams (DHTs) and facility staff identify barriers to immediate postpartum family planning (iPPFP), develop locally appropriate solutions, and strengthen routine service delivery. As a result, the number of family planning clients increased by 50% and iPPFP uptake increased from 12% to 24% across the 250 EMPOWER-supported facilities between August 2025 and March 2026. EMPOWER’s experience presents opportunities to embed CQI in government-led quality improvement systems to strengthen problem-solving, sustain gains in service quality and access, and better respond to demand for family planning.
