Family Planning Programs and Fertility Transition in sub-Saharan Africa

1994 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheikh Mbacke ◽  
National Research Council
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Fertility Transition ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Family Planning Programs ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Human fertility in relation to education, economy, religion, contraception, and family planning programs

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Götmark ◽  
Malte Andersson
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
World Population ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Health Food ◽  
Family Planning Programs ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Background The world population is expected to increase greatly this century, aggravating current problems related to climate, health, food security, biodiversity, energy and other vital resources. Population growth depends strongly on total fertility rate (TFR), but the relative importance of factors that influence fertility needs more study. Methods We analyze recent levels of fertility in relation to five factors: education (mean school years for females), economy (Gross Domestic Product, GDP, per capita), religiosity, contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR), and strength of family planning programs. We compare six global regions: E Europe, W Europe and related countries, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Arab States, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. In total, 141 countries are included in the analysis. We estimate the strength of relationships between TFR and the five factors by correlation or regression and present the results graphically. Results In decreasing order of strength, fertility (TFR) correlates negatively with education, CPR, and GDP per capita, and positively with religiosity. Europe deviates from other regions in several ways, e.g. TFR increases with education and decreases with religiosity in W Europe. TFR decreases with increasing strength of family planning programs in three regions, but only weakly so in a fourth, Sub-Saharan Africa (the two European regions lacked such programs). Most factors correlated with TFR are also correlated with each other. In particular, education correlates positively with GDP per capita but negatively with religiosity, which is also negatively related to contraception and GDP per capita. Conclusions These results help identify factors of likely importance for TFR in global regions and countries. More work is needed to establish causality and relative importance of the factors. Our novel quantitative analysis of TFR suggests that religiosity may counteract the ongoing decline of fertility in some regions and countries.

scholarly journals Trends in fertility and fertility preferences in sub-Saharan Africa: the roles of education and family planning programs

Genus ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Bongaarts
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Family Size ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Population Policy ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Family Planning Programs ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Desired Family Size ◽  
Dhs Surveys

Abstract A common explanation for the high fertility prevailing in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a widespread desire for large families. This situation poses a challenge to population policy-makers in the continent. If the desired family size is high, then presumably family planning programs can only have a limited effect on fertility because these programs aim to assist women in achieving their reproductive goals. But this conclusion is based on the assumption that family planning programs do not affect the desired family size, which is questionable and is investigated here. This study examines the determinants of trends wanted and unwanted fertility in SSA using fixed-effects regressions of country-level data. The dependent variables include the total fertility rate, and its wanted and unwanted components. Explanatory variables include a family planning program score and four socioeconomic variables (women’s educational attainment, child mortality, GNI per capita, and percent urban). Data come from 103 DHS surveys in 25 countries in SSA with at least two DHS surveys between 1989 and 2019. Women’s education and family planning programs are found to be the dominant determinants of fertility decline and their effects operate by reducing both wanted and unwanted fertility. The effects of education are not surprising but the finding that family planning programs can reduce wanted fertility implies that their impact can be larger than conventional wisdom suggests. Indeed, in a few poor countries, the implementation of high-quality programs has been associated with substantial declines in wanted fertility (e.g., Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda). The mechanism through which this effect operates is unclear but likely involves media programs that diffuse knowledge about the benefits of smaller families.

scholarly journals Fertility transition in selected sub-Saharan African countries: the role of family planning programs

F1000Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 1748
Author(s):  
Vincent Otieno ◽  
Alfred Agwanda ◽  
Anne Khasakhala
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Fertility Transition ◽  
Unmet Need ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Fertility Preference ◽  
Family Planning Programs ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Control Technologies

Background: Change in fertility rate across societies is a complex process that involves changes in the demand for children, the diffusion of new attitudes about family planning and greater accessibility to contraception provided by family planning programs. Among the neo-Malthusian adherents, it is believed that rapid population growth strain countries’ capacity and performance. Fertility has, however, decelerated in most countries in the recent past. Scholars have concentrated on wide range of factors associated with fertility majorly at the national scale. However, considerably less attention has been paid to the fertility preference - a pathway through which various variables act on fertility. The Sub-Saharan African countries’ disparities amid almost similarities in policies is a cause of concern to demographers. Methods: Using Bongaarts reformulation of Easterlin and Crimmins conceptual scheme of 1985 on Demographic and Health Survey Data (DHS) data collected overtime across countries, the understanding of the current transition in general would help to reassess and provide explanations to the observed latest fertility dynamics at play. This study therefore is an attempt to explain the current fertility transition through women’s fertility preference. Results: Results reveal that indeed fertility transition is diverse across countries though generally on a decline course in most of the sub-Saharan countries. The huge disparities in fertility preferences among women of reproductive age and its non-significant change in the implementation indices overtime points at the levels of unmet need to contraception underneath as well as the proportion of demand to family planning commodities satisfied by programs in a bid to allow women implement their fertility desires. Conclusions: It is therefore plausible to conclude that the improvement of the availability and the uptake of quality birth control technologies is one of the most feasible means through which countries can fast track their fertility transitions.

Fragile, Threatened, and Still Urgently Needed: Family Planning Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Jacobstein ◽  
Lynn Bakamjian ◽  
John M. Pile ◽  
Jane Wickstrom
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Family Planning Programs ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Fertility transition in selected sub-Saharan African countries: the role of family planning programs

F1000Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 1748
Author(s):  
Vincent Otieno ◽  
Alfred Agwanda ◽  
Anne Khasakhala
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Fertility Transition ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Fertility Preferences ◽  
Fertility Preference ◽  
Current Fertility ◽  
Sub Saharan

Background: Change in fertility rate across societies is a complex process that involves changes in the demand for children, the diffusion of new attitudes about family planning and greater accessibility to contraception. Scholars have concentrated on a range of factors associated with fertility majorly at the national scale. However, considerably less attention has been paid to fertility preference - a pathway through which various variables act on fertility. It is understood that women have inherent fertility preferences which each they seek to achieve over her reproductive cycle. However, the service delivery enhancement levels and capacity across countries as integral pathways to this goal accomplishment stand on their way towards eventual outcomes. Precisely, the Sub-Saharan African countries’ disparities amid similarities in their population policies is a cause of concern. Methods: Using Bongaarts reformulation of Easterlin conceptual scheme of 1985 on DHS data, the understanding of the current fertility transition in general would provide explanations to the observed fertility dynamics. This study therefore is an attempt to explain the current fertility transition through women’s fertility preference. Results: Results reveal that fertility transition is diverse across sub-Saharan Africa; generally, on a decline course in most of the countries. The huge disparities in fertility preferences among women of reproductive age and its non-significant change in the implementation indices points at the service delivery performance underneath regarding the proportion of demand to family planning commodities satisfied. Service delivery indicators are integral to fertility preference achievement within households as well as a country’s overall positioning regarding fertility transition at the macroscale. Conclusions: It is therefore plausible to conclude that the improvement of service delivery in general; precisely touching on the availability and the uptake of quality birth control technologies is one of the most feasible means through which countries can fast track their fertility transitions.

Change and Continuity in Kassena Men's Perceptions of Family Planning in Northern Ghana

2018 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Wallace ◽  
Philip Baba Adongo
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Family Formation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Family Planning Programs ◽  
Upper East Region ◽  
Intergenerational Change ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Companionate Marriage ◽  
The Impact

Studies suggest that men's perceptions of family planning in sub-Saharan Africa would be improved if they were included more extensively in family planning programs. However, few studies capture how men's views change over time and what processes are responsible for these shifts. Examining the processes that underpin men's shifting family formation strategies is essential in order to understand the impact of family planning programs. This research, framed by a political economy of fertility approach that draws on life history data, highlights intergenerational change and continuity in men's perceptions of family planning in Kassena-Nankana West District of the Upper East Region of Ghana, where a family planning program involving men was implemented in the 1990s. Eight months of ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in rural village and clinic settings in 2013 and 2014. We find that men's sense of responsibility for the cost of schooling, against a changing economic backdrop, as well as shifts toward “companionate marriage” are among the most salient factors contributing to their growing approval of family planning. This study highlights the importance of paying attention to changes in the larger socioeconomic context that encourage men's acceptance of family planning. We argue that programs incorporating men should move beyond health education to consider broader social and economic drivers of attitudinal change.

scholarly journals Promoting Scale-Up Across a Global Project Platform: Lessons from the Evidence to Action Project

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Ghiron ◽  
Eric Ramirez-Ferrero ◽  
Rita Badiani ◽  
Regina Benevides ◽  
Alexis Ntabona ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Health System Strengthening ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Look Ahead ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

AbstractThe USAID-funded flagship family planning service delivery project named Evidence to Action (E2A) worked from 2011 to 2021 to improve family planning and reproductive health for women and girls across seventeen nations in sub-Saharan Africa using a “scaling-up mindset.” The paper discusses three key lessons emerging from the project’s experience with applying ExpandNet’s systematic approach to scale up. The methodology uses ExpandNet/WHO’s scaling-up framework and guidance tools to design and implement pilot or demonstration projects in ways that look ahead to their future scale-up; develop a scaling-up strategy with local stakeholders; and then strategically manage the scaling-up process. The paper describes how a scaling-up mindset was engendered, first within the project’s technical team in Washington and then how they subsequently sought to build capacity at the country level to support scale-up work throughout E2A’s portfolio of activities. The project worked with local multi-stakeholder resource teams, often led by government officials, to equip them to lead the scale-up of family planning and health system strengthening interventions. Examples from project experience in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda illustrating key concepts are discussed. E2A also established a community of practice on systematic approaches to scale up as a platform for sharing learning across a variety of technical agencies engaged in scale-up work and to create learning opportunities for interacting with thought leaders around critical scale-up issues.

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