2011 International Conference on Family Planning
Dakar, 2nd December 2011 – Today at the International Conference on Family Planning, experts from Marie Stopes International reveal Impact 2, their updated estimator tool which enables organisations to estimate the wider impact of their family planning programming in developing countries .
Presented yesterday and demonstrated at the conference Technology Café this morning, this innovative new tool represents the solution to a problem that many family planning programmes face – namely, the difficulty of measuring high level impact without using expensive surveys and complex mathematical modelling.
Marie Stopes International CEO Dana Hovig said: “Family planning programmes are experienced in measuring programme outputs such as commodities and services delivered. However, it’s crucial that we also demonstrate how we impact higher level national health, demographic, and economic goals.”
“Because of our investment in developing the user-friendly Impact 2 tool, programme staff can harness complex datasets to estimate their contribution to national goals, plan for future provision and advocate to donors about the importance of investing in family planning globally.”
The tool, developed in partnership with health economists and demographers, and peer reviewed by the Guttmacher Institute, Population Council, EngenderHealth, Futures Institute, Population Council and the UNFPA, is now being used by 20 organisations, including DFID and USAID.
National governments and donors now routinely set high-level goals, including increasing contraceptive prevalence rates (CPR) and reducing maternal mortality ratios (MMR). USAID and UNFPA have both committed to increasing CPR by 2% points annually in targeted countries, and via MDG 5 almost 200 countries have pledged to reduce MMR by three quarters by 2015. Programmes need tools to estimate how much they can realistically contribute towards these goals.
Marie Stopes International’s Impact 2 tool allows programmes to estimate the number of DALYs saved and unplanned pregnancies and births, maternal deaths and unsafe abortions averted based on their actual service provision data. It also allows them to estimate economic impact through measures such as cost savings to families and national health systems through reduction in maternal and infant mortality.
Hovig concludes: “We’re delighted that high profile organisations such as DFID and USAID are benefitting from our investment in measuring high level outcomes. Being able to estimate how much we can contribute to a government’s goal of increasing CPR to 50%, or whether we could have a greater impact on CPR and MMR if we expanded access to LAPMs is the holy grail the family planning world has been waiting for.”
Marie Stopes International exists to reach the underserved, by providing them with the fullest possible range of family planning services and comprehensive reproductive healthcare possible. In 2010 alone, more than seven million couples were using a modern method of contraception as a result of our work. Providing family planning and reproductive healthcare in 40 countries around the world, Marie Stopes International supports millions of the world's poorest and most vulnerable women and men every year.
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Notes to Editors
For more details, media enquiries and interviews please contact:
In Dakar
Michael Tirrell, Communications Manager
Michael.tirrell@mariestopes.org
+44 (0)7771 681 265
In London
press@mariestopes.org.uk
+44 (0)20 3219 8005 or +44 (0)20 3219 8006
Out of hours: +44 (0)7769 166 516
Please visit our Conference Stand in Room C01 or visit www.mariestopes.org to find out more about our work.