This technical update discusses Pathfinder and partners’ experience implementing the Citizen Report Card to support the government in understanding local experience of contraception and family planning services. In Tanzania—where contraceptive prevalence is at 34% for all methods and 27% for modern methods, unmet need is 25%, and maternal mortality is 454 per 100,000 live births—improved governance efforts can play a critical role in assisting the government to address poor health outcomes and better meet the reproductive health needs of its citizens.

In 2012, recognizing the need for resource-appropriate mechanisms to support the government in understanding local experience of contraception and family planning services, Pathfinder International, Sikika, and the Tanzania Ministry of Health partnered to introduce the Citizen Report Card.