Family Health International Awarded USAID 'Progress' Project to Improve Family Planning and Reproductive Health Programs in Developing...( USAID to Invest US $50 Million ov...),Health

USAID to Invest US $50 Million over a Five-Year Period to Improve Access and Availability to Family Planning

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., June 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced that Family Health International (FHI) -- a global public health and development organization -- will lead a major family planning research project known as PROGRESS (Program Research for Strengthening Services).

The project will generate knowledge and awareness about family planning programs that can be adopted by health systems in developing countries. This initiative will focus on identifying the need for new or improved family planning methods for individuals and communities, providing increased access to contraceptive services, and strengthening the capabilities of health researchers -- and those in a position to apply new knowledge -- in developing countries. The goal is to improve the quality of reproductive health services by ensuring that programs around the world draw on the best available scientific evidence.

As the largest ever generation of young people enters their reproductive years, PROGRESS will play an important role in helping them reach their goals by making contraceptive methods more accessible and available. Some 150 million couples in the developing world say they would prefer to plan their births but are not currently using family planning. Ultimately, the aim of the project is to apply research to ensure longer, healthier lives for some of the world's poorest women and children.

USAID has pledged up to US $50 million to this project, to be allocated over a five-year period. To ensure that research addresses the issues that are most important to the people who need these services, FHI will collaborate with researchers, program managers, and policymakers in governmental and non-governmental agencies in a number of countries.

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