Organizations involved
Pathfinder
Summary
The (re)solve project (2016-2020) from Pathfinder will advance transformative interventions to expand use of modern contraception among women who do not wish to become pregnant in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh. In Burkina Faso, the project works with young women ages 15-24, in Bangladesh with female garment workers, and in Ethiopia with post-partum women. The (re)solve project outlines a program for adaptive and disruptive change in family planning program design. (re)solve will accumulate and make available the learning gained on the nature of women’s and couples’ decision making about family planning (FP) use and what drives and supports women’s and men’s resolve to use effective methods to inform future FP programming globally. Finally, it will engender accelerated sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes through the application of innovative solutions, create a framework for their scale-up, and document learning about the process of adaptation and integration of disruptive solutions themselves to the rapidly evolving world of FP and public health. This knowledge will be shared as guidance to practitioners worldwide in creating similar spaces for innovation and adaptation.
Social norms of interest
Social norms that serve as either a barrier or a motivator towards increased FP use (e.g. gender equity, stigma, outlook on pre-marital sex, religion).
Behaviours of interest
Use of family planning
Project components
- Develop new and innovative solutions that can be effectively applied to improve decision making about use and continuation of modern contraception and to gain insights on fertility preferences, method-specific perspectives, the role of men and masculinity, gender, and household dynamics
- Increase evidence and programmatic understanding on how and when to apply cost-effective cross-disciplinary levers and approaches to test new solutions and improve existing interventions to increase the modern contraceptive prevalence rate
- Increase uptake of effective ways to apply cross-disciplinary approaches in designing, implementing, and monitoring interventions to better address reasons for non use
- Bring together the consortium of partners—ideas42, Camber Collective, and International Center for Research on Women—to deliver real, lasting change
Social norms measurement
National level quantitative surveys, qualitative research through extensive literature reviews
Key findings to date
In Burkina Faso, six segments of women were identified based on varying degrees of health optimism, unmet demand, and agency. Three of these were prioritized for solution development and prototyping (Skeptic Youth, Confidant Family Woman, and Ambitious Risk-Taker).
In Bangladesh, six segments of women were identified based on varying degrees of current use of modern methods, risk propensity, social openness, and need for limiting. Two of these were prioritized for solution development and prototyping (Risky Networkers and Private Strivers).
In Ethiopia, six segments of women were identified based on varying degrees of FP acceptance, fertility preferences, unmet demand, and agency. Two of these were prioritized for solution development and prototyping (Full-House Passives, Uncertain Impressionables, and Adaptable Matriarchs). A rapid-segmentation tool was also devised for each country to enable instant categorization of women into segments, by ground-level actors.
