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Sexual and reproductive health

Meeting needs for reproductive health services in post-conflict environments

CARE’s family planning project in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Authors: C. Toth
Publisher: CARE USA, 2007

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This article reviews a family planning programme in the remote, war-torn Maniema province in the Democratic Republic of Congo implemented by CARE and USAID between 2004 and 2007. The family planning project delivers family planning services to 228,000 women of reproductive age in Maniema. The article describes the results achieved and lessons learned to date. The mid-term evaluation of the project found that the contraceptive prevalence rate among women had risen; the proportion of women who knew where to obtain contraceptive services nearly doubled; and the number of women wanting to space births by two years rose by 50 per cent.
 
The article describes the challenges of providing reproductive health services in post-conflict environments, in particular, challenges in translating Ministry of Health policy into action, and struggling with a difficult physical and financial environment. The author recommends that others working in post-conflict environments take into consideration women’s physical and psychological needs and households’ social and economic needs, and also get to know the population in the project zone – their traditions and concerns – before introducing family planning.