The aggregate effect of implementation strength of family planning programs on modern contraceptive use at the health systems level in rural Malawi.

To explore the association between the strength of implementation of family planning (FP) programs on the use of modern contraceptives. Specifically, how strongly these programs are being implemented across a health facility's catchment area in Malawi and the odds of a woman in that catchment area is using modern contraceptives. This information can be used to assess whether the combined impact of multiple large-scale FP programs is leading to change in the health outcomes they aim to improve. We used data from the 2017 Implementation Strength Assessment (ISA) that quantified how much of family planning programs at the health facility and community health worker levels were being implemented across every district of Malawi. We used a summary measure developed in a previous study that employs quantitative methods to combine data across FP domains and health system levels. We tested the association of this summary measure for implementation strength with household data from the 2015 Malawi Demographic Health Survey (DHS). We found that areas with stronger implementation of FP programs had higher odds of women using modern contraceptives compared with areas with weaker implementation. The association of ISA with use of modern contraception was different by education, marital status, and geography. After controlling for these factors, we found that the adjusted odds of using a modern contraceptive was three times higher in catchment areas with high implementation strength compared to those with lower strength. Metrics that summarize how strongly FP programs are being implemented were used to show a statistically significantly positive relationship between increasing implementation strength and higher rates of modern contraceptive use. Decisionmakers at the various levels of health authority can use this type of summary measure to better understand the combined impact of their diverse FP programming and inform future programmatic and policy decisions. The findings also reinforce the idea that having a well-supported and supplied cadre of community health workers supplementing FP provision at the health facility can be an important health systems mechanism, especially in rural settings and to target youth populations.

How strong are Malawi's family planning programs for adolescent and adult women? Results of a national assessment of implementation strength conducted by Malawi's National Evaluation Platform.

BACKGROUND: To assess the strength of implementation of family planning programs targeting youth (15-24) in Malawi with a specific focus on youth and the Youth-Friendly Health Services program. METHODS: We conducted 9781 mobile phone interviews with facility in-Charge Nurses and health workers (health facility workers, health surveillance assistants [HSAs] and community-based distribution agent [CBDAs]) who provide family planning (FP) services across the 28 districts. Responses were entered in tablet using Open Data Kit. They were summarized and presented using R, Stata (College Station, TX, USA, StatsReport, JHU, Baltimore, MD, USA) and ArcView GIS (ESRI, Redlands, CA, USA). RESULTS: Availability of key products was a challenge across all health worker types as only 39% of health facilities, 29% of HSAs and 45% of CBDAs had all the FP methods they are supposed to provide on the day of the interview. About 50% of health workers were supervised within past 90 days preceding the study. Despite most facilities saying that they provide youth friendly health services, youth-specific FP guidelines or protocols were not available in 43% of facilities that provide these services and only 33% of facilities had special rooms and 58% have special days for youth. CONCLUSIONS: The commodity supply system needs to ensure that all facilities and workers have a consistent supply of all contraceptive methods. Government and program implementers should ensure availability of all FP guidelines and information, education, communication materials at all service delivery points and facilitate creation of special rooms or days for youth.

Youth accessing reproductive health services in Malawi: drivers, barriers, and suggestions from the perspectives of youth and parents.

BACKGROUND: Malawi has made progress in increasing its overall modern contraceptive prevalence rate since 2000, resulting in a dramatic reduction in its total fertility rate. However, youth, 15-24 years, have not had the same successes. Teenage pregnancies are on the rise and little progress has been made in reducing unmet need for family planning among youth. With two-thirds of the population under the age of 25 and with Malawi's rapid population growth, reducing unmet need for family planning among youth remains a priority for the government's reproductive health agenda. To further explore this situation, we conducted a qualitative study to explore the perspectives of youth and adults about the drivers and barriers to youth accessing family planning in Malawi and their ideas to improve services. METHODS: We conducted 34 focus group discussions with youth aged 15-24 and parents or legal guardians of female youth in 3 districts in Malawi. Focus groups were translated and transcribed. Data was input into Dedoose and analyzed using a thematic framework to identify broader patterns and themes. RESULTS: Youth participants felt motivated to use family planning to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases and to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Females focused on the consequences of unplanned pregnancies and believed family planning services were targeted primarily at them, while males thought family planning services targeted males and females equally. Barriers to youth accessing family planning included contraception misconceptions, the costs of family planning services, and negative attitudes. Parents had mixed views on family planning. While many parents acknowledged they could play a role in supporting youth, most said they are reluctant to support youth using family planning. Participants said improving counseling services, integrating family planning services and education within school curricula, and utilizing youth clubs could improve family planning services for youth. CONCLUSIONS: Policy makers and program implementers should consider the diverse preferences among youth and parents and continue seeking their input when designing policies and programs. Youth clubs and school-based services were among the most common suggestions. However, the effectiveness of youth clubs and school-based initiatives to increase contraceptive use among youth in Malawi is not clear.

Malawi and Millennium Development Goal 4: a Countdown to 2015 country case study.

BACKGROUND: Several years in advance of the 2015 endpoint for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Malawi was already thought to be one of the few countries in sub-Saharan Africa likely to meet the MDG 4 target of reducing under-5 mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015. Countdown to 2015 therefore selected the Malawi National Statistical Office to lead an in-depth country case study, aimed mainly at explaining the country's success in improving child survival. METHODS: We estimated child and neonatal mortality for the years 2000-14 using five district-representative household surveys. The study included recalculation of coverage indicators for that period, and used the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) to attribute the child lives saved in the years from 2000 to 2013 to various interventions. We documented the adoption and implementation of policies and programmes affecting the health of women and children, and developed estimates of financing. FINDINGS: The estimated mortality rate in children younger than 5 years declined substantially in the study period, from 247 deaths (90% CI 234-262) per 1000 livebirths in 1990 to 71 deaths (58-83) in 2013, with an annual rate of decline of 5·4%. The most rapid mortality decline occurred in the 1-59 months age group; neonatal mortality declined more slowly (from 50 to 23 deaths per 1000 livebirths), representing an annual rate of decline of 3·3%. Nearly half of the coverage indicators have increased by more than 20 percentage points between 2000 and 2014. Results from the LiST analysis show that about 280,000 children's lives were saved between 2000 and 2013, attributable to interventions including treatment for diarrhoea, pneumonia, and malaria (23%), insecticide-treated bednets (20%), vaccines (17%), reductions in wasting (11%) and stunting (9%), facility birth care (7%), and prevention and treatment of HIV (7%). The amount of funding allocated to the health sector has increased substantially, particularly to child health and HIV and from external sources, but remains below internationally agreed targets. Key policies to address the major causes of child mortality and deliver high-impact interventions at scale throughout Malawi began in the late 1990s and intensified in the latter half of the 2000s and into the 2010s, backed by health-sector-wide policies to improve women's and children's health. INTERPRETATION: This case study confirmed that Malawi had achieved MDG 4 for child survival by 2013. Our findings suggest that this was achieved mainly through the scale-up of interventions that are effective against the major causes of child deaths (malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhoea), programmes to reduce child undernutrition and mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and some improvements in the quality of care provided around birth. The Government of Malawi was among the first in sub-Saharan Africa to adopt evidence-based policies and implement programmes at scale to prevent unnecessary child deaths. Much remains to be done, building on this success and extending it to higher proportions of the population and targeting continued high neonatal mortality rates. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, WHO, The World Bank, Government of Australia, Government of Canada, Government of Norway, Government of Sweden, Government of the UK, and UNICEF.