Family Planning, RTIs,
HIV/AIDS Program
The Family Planning, RTIs and HIV/AIDS program was
officially set up in early 2003. The main objectives of the program
are to co-ordinate activities, develop guidelines, facilitate
supervision, conduct research and manage commodities distribution
and logistics. The projects are implemented in collaboration with
various partners. Current projects include the Implementing Best
Practices (IBP) initiative, the IUCD re-introduction initiative,
the FP/VCT integration project, the revision of the PMTCT+ guidelines,
development of RTI guidelines, development of a community reproductive
health package and establishment of a monitoring and evaluation
system.
Within the past 2 years, the program has successfully
revised the family planning guidelines, developed advocacy briefs
for the IUCD, conducted a feasibility study on an educational
outreach approach to improve provider attitudes, developed a PMTCT
curriculum, developed family planning brochures and launched an
accreditation system through on-job-training in Western Province.
This success can be credited to the commitment of the program
staff and stakeholders, the willingness among partners to rally
together for a common objective, the support from the head of
the division and the focused planning within the division using
the annual business plan.
The program would benefit from increased capacity
including skills and staff to support the different projects,
improved communication and a strengthened decentralized training
and supervision system. The program also requires close collaboration
with other divisions especially when promoting integration of
services which is a challenge. A family planning working group
headed by the DRH is to be launched on 20th June 2005.
