Côte d’Ivoire has positioned family planning (FP) as a high-impact intervention for improving maternal and child health and socioeconomic indicators. To promote universal access to FP, the Ivorian government has made modern contraception free of charge in public health facilities (HFs) and for all populations. Despite this promising development, the health system has not yet succeeded in reaching adolescents and young people with facility-based FP services.
The project Universal Access to Modern Contraception in Côte d’Ivoire (UAmC-CI), funded by the Gates Foundation, works to ensure provision of free, quality FP services in the public sector. Led by Pathfinder International, the project organizes outreach activities in the form of Journées Spéciales de la Planification Familiale (JSPF), or Special Family Planning Days, to reach marginalized populations with high need for contraception, including adolescents and young people. JSPFs are organized by the Health District (HD) and take place over three days at a single location, often far from the nearest public HF. Over the three days, providers raise awareness about the benefits of FP, provide FP counseling, and offer free contraceptive methods, including implant and IUD insertions and removals.
Project data from initial JSPF activities suggest, however, that few adolescent girls attend these events for FP services. During the first six months of implementing JSPF in Buyo District, the age distribution of new FP users was as follows: 1.4% were under age 15, 24.2% were between 15–19, 24.3% were 19– 24, and 50% were over the age of 25. To address this challenge, Pathfinder began experimenting with an outreach approach that engages adolescents and young people directly: the Stratégie Avancée à l’École, or advanced strategy in schools.
