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Home > News Archive > 2006

News Archive 2006

Moving Vasectomy Forward

The ACQUIRE Project held an experts meeting November 20 in Washington, D.C., in collaboration with Family Health International (FHI), on priorities and next steps in advancing vasectomy services. A follow-up to a meeting held in December 2003, this day-long session addressed issues of supply, demand, advocacy, sustainability, and research. Read more>>>

Long-Acting and Permanent Methods of Contraception: Without Them, a Country's Development Will Be Low and Slow

Read a Q&A developed by ACQUIRE on why long-acting and permanent methods of contraception are crucial to improving reproductive health and family planning outcomes in low-resource settings>>> (PDF, 79KB)

ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE: Revitalizing the IUD in Kenya

This project brief explores the ACQUIRE Project's initiative to increase the access, quality, and use of IUD services in Kisii district, Kenya. read more>>> (PDF, 140KB)

ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE: Increasing Awareness of, Access to, and Utilization of Vasectomy Services in Ghana

This project brief looks at the ACQUIRE Project's Permanent Smile Campaign, which promotes vasectomy in Ghana. read more>>> (PDF, 312KB)

ACQUIRE at APHA

Perceptions of an Innovation: Implications for the IUD

ACQUIRE and Family Health International led a roundtable presentation on the IUD at the American Public Health Association-s annual meeting. The session included a focused discussion on perceptions of the IUD as well as recommendations for promoting the IUD in low-resource settings. See presentation>>> (PDF, 61KB)

Fertility Management Options for Women in Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, low fertility co-exists with a low modern methods contraceptive prevalence rate and a high abortion rate. A new five-year family planning project seeks to increase use of modern contraception. To identify barriers to utilization and prepare for project implementation, ACQUIRE conducted a baseline assessment in five districts of Azerbaijan. The findings from the assessment and recommendations for appropriate interventions to both increase community demand and strengthen supply of quality family planning services were presented at this year-s American Public Health Association meeting in Boston.

See presentation>>> (PDF, 297KB)

Addressing Fistula in Bangladesh: Stories of Survival, and Hope

ACQUIRE is supporting fisula prevention, management, and repair at three private-sector facilities in Bangladesh. Read stories of clients>>> (PDF, 95KB)

Community Awareness of and Attitudes Towards Long-acting and Permament Contraception in Guinea

Little recent literature exists to explain the low prevalence of family planning in Guinea. To learn more about demand and supply issues around family planning in Guinea, the ACQUIRE Project, with technical assistance from Family Health International, undertook a research project to identify community awareness of and barriers to long-acting and permanent methods of family planning. read report>>> (PDF, 256KB)

African Union Meeting Calls for Refocusing Attention on Family Planning

September 21, 2006-The ACQUIRE Project applauds the recommendations coming out of an African Union meeting held in Maputo, Mozambique, this week to step up family planning efforts. -There hasn-t been adequate emphasis on family planning as a strategy, and yet it is a cost-effective thing,- said Chisale Mhango, African Union Department of Social Affairs.

read more>>>

Supporting Fistula Repair and Prevention Services in Guinea

Since January 2006, the ACQUIRE Project has been implementing a fistula repair and prevention program at two hospitals in Guinea. The goals of the project are to increase access to and utilization of comprehensive fistula treatment services (including counseling and reintegration); increase provider skills and ability to diagnose, treat, and refer fistula clients; increase sustainable capacity of the project sites for fistula treatment and prevention; and increase community awareness of the causes of fistula and repair and prevention options. To learn more about this important work, explore this compelling series of fistula clients' photos and success stories: view presentation>>> (PDF, 2.8MB)

ACQUIRE Holds Learning Sessions at African Nursing Conference

At the recent East, Central, and Southern Africa College of Nursing (ECSACON) Conference, held in Entebbe, Uganda, August 12-19, 2006, ACQUIRE led two learning seminars-on the IUD and fistula-for nurses and nurse educators from throughout the region.

Increasing Access to Fistula Services in Nigeria

With the ACQUIRE Project-s worldwide experience with fistula, and its particular expertise in Africa, USAID/Nigeria has requested ACQUIRE-s assistance in addressing obstetric fistula in northern Nigeria as part of a year-long project. The primary objective is to increase the use of fistula services in four states. read more>>>

ACQUIRE Publishes Baseline Survey on Reproductive Health and Family Planning Services in Azerbaijan

The ACQUIRE Project is pleased to announce the publication of a baseline survey conducted in five districts of Azerbaijan in 2005. To identify problems and barriers to services, the survey assessed both public- and private-sector facilities, interviewing providers and community members on the current supply of and demand for family planning. High unmet need for contraception, lack of contraceptive security, scarcity of current information on family planning, and fear of method side effects are among the findings of the survey.

read the report>>> (PDF, 509KB)

Gaining Support for FP among Imams in Bangladesh

The ACQUIRE Project is implementing a training program among imams entitled -Family Planning in the Light of Islam.- The initiative actively engages the highly influential Islamic religious leaders to generate community demand for family planning services. read more>>>

ACQUIRE Collaborates with PSP-One to Advance Vasectomy Services in Honduras

After the ACQUIRE Project-s campaign in Honduras to promote vasectomy and to increase access to no-scalpel vasectomy (NSV) in government and non-governmental facilities, PSP-One is expanding and scaling-up NSV services to the private sector. read more>>>

Family Planning: Improving Lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Tragically, close and frequent pregnancies are common in many countries where family planning is not widely used. During a recent contraceptive technology update held by the ACQUIRE Project in the DRC, providers were trained in offering family planning services, such as the IUD. read more >>>  (PDF, 106KB)

ACQUIRE Publishes Study on Vasectomy Acceptance in Kigoma Region of Tanzania

The ACQUIRE Project is working to support male-centered services-including vasectomy-in the Kigoma region. This study, a collaboration between the ACQUIRE Project and Family Health International, explores factors contributing to vasectomy use in the region, to refine existing vasectomy programs and to replicate and scale up best practices and lessons learned from the study sites to areas of low vasectomy acceptance. read more>>> (PDF, 297KB)

Fostering Change: Strengthening IUD Services in Kisii, Kenya

Despite its proven safety, effectiveness, acceptability, and low cost, the IUD has virtually disappeared from the national mix of modern family planning methods in Kenya over the past 20 years. In 2004, Kenya's Ministry of Health (MOH) requested the ACQUIRE Project assist the Kisii district MOH in establishing sustainable systems and services for IUD provision.

read more>>> (PDF, 56KB)

Improving PMTCT Services in Cameroon

The implementation of COPE^- (which stands for client-oriented, provider efficient services) is having a lasting impact at health centers providing services for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) in Cameroon.

read more>>>

ACQUIRE Publishes Baseline Surveys on Bolivia, Bangladesh, and Tanzania

The ACQUIRE Project is pleased to announce the publication of three baseline surveys, conducted in Bolivia, Bangladesh, and Tanzania. The baseline surveys revealed very important information about the current state of reproductive health and family planning services in each of these country contexts. The data from the surveys serves two functions: it informs ACQUIRE-s programming and it will be used in comparison with endline data to measure the extent to which ACQUIRE program activities affected the availability and quality of services at the facilities it supported.

All three of the surveys employed a quasi-experimental design, and were adapted from the Services Provision Assessment and the Quick Investigation of Quality tools to these country and programmatic contexts using a core ACQUIRE approach-the fundamentals of care (choice, safety, and quality assurance).

The pdf versions of all three baseline studies are available at:

• Bolivia Baseline Study Report:
  English version (PDF, 726KB), Spanish version (PDF, 714KB)
• Bangladesh Baseline Study Report (PDF, 603KB)
• Tanzania Baseline Study Report (PDF, 518KB)

Improving Contraceptive Continuation

The ACQUIRE Project promotes optimal contraceptive continuation by programming to address the reasons that women who wish to avert pregnancy discontinue family planning. A report was recently published of an interagency workshop ACQUIRE co-sponsored with Family Health International (FHI) to address the problem of contraceptive discontinuation. read more>>>

Healing Wounds and Restoring Hope of Women in Rwanda

The first-ever obstetric fistula training for Rwandan surgeons was held from March 6 to 10, at Ruhengeri Hospital. The training is the first step in a long-term, collaborative effort to address this preventable and treatable condition.

read more >>> (PDF, 93KB)

ACQUIRE Partner The Society for Women and AIDS in Africa Awarded for Advocacy Work

The Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA) recently received a -Special Award for Champions of HIV/AIDS- from AIDS Watch Africa (AWA). AWA is an initiative established by the heads of state and governments of eight African countries to set an agenda for top-level leadership to the African AIDS response. The award is in recognition of SWAA-s HIV and AIDS advocacy in Africa. read more>>>

Expanding Access to Fistula Repair

In Bangladesh, the ACQUIRE Project recently sponsored the opening ceremony of the obstetric fistula units at two hospitals. And in Uganda, ACQUIRE recently supported a fistula surgery training session. read more>>>

ACQUIRE Presents at CORE Spring Meeting "The Faces and Facets of Quality"

Erin Mielke, ACQUIRE-s Regional Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean, recently presented at the Child Survival Collaborations and Resources Group (CORE) Spring Membership Meeting in Easton, Maryland, April 24-28. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss methodologies and strategies for improving the quality of global child health programs, exchange technical information, and explore partnerships across organizations. ACQUIRE-s presentation focused on scaling up and sustaining client-oriented, provider-efficient (COPE) services and quality improvement. view presentation>>> (PDF, 244KB)

Fundamentals of Care Resource Package

Essential elements for ensuring the quality of facility-based service delivery include: choice, safety, and quality assurance. The ACQUIRE Project has developed a resource package to assist program planners, managers, supervisors, and providers in implementing and evaluating facility-based services according to these fundamentals of care. read more>>> (PDF, 188KB)

TECHNICAL UPDATE: Community Mobilization

Community mobilization is a key strategy for increasing demand for and use of health services. The ACQUIRE Project has undertaken community mobilization in several countries and this update spotlights recent developments and lessons learned. read more>>> (PDF, 47KB)

TECHNICAL UPDATE: Traumatic Gynecologic Fistula

While global awareness of obstetric fistula has increased, less is known about traumatic gynecologic fistula, a condition that can occur as the result of sexual violence, often in conflict settings. This update explores current knowledge on traumatic gynecologic fistula and programmatic considerations in addressing the issue. read more>>> (PDF, 42KB)

ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE: A Focus on the Fundamentals of Care

Read the first in a series of ACQUIRE Project Briefs, which highlight project activities, strategies, and lessons learned to strengthen reproductive health/ family planning services. read more>>> (PDF, 161KB)

Strengthening Family Planning in Uganda

The ACQUIRE Project recently conducted two workshops for supervisors to improve the quality of family planning (FP) services-long-acting and permanent methods (LAPMs) in particular-in its four project districts. read more>>>

-Get a Permanent Smile-

Increasing Awareness of, Access to, and Utilization of Vasectomy Services in Ghana

The ACQUIRE Project recently published a report that highlights how creatively combining supply-side and demand-side activities had a strong impact on Ghanaian men's interest in and use of vasectomy.

read more >>>

ACQUIRE Presents CTU to White Ribbon Alliance

ACQUIRE Clinical Director Roy Jacobstein and James Shelton, USAID, recently presented a contraceptive technology update (CTU) on the latest developments in contraceptive technology to the White Ribbon Alliance, a group of individuals and organizations committed to safe motherhood. Approximately 45 members of the Alliance's core group were in attendance. view presentation>>> (PDF, 640KB)

Repositioning Family Planning in Nepal

Recognizing that the Nepal family planning program is at a crossroads, His Majesty-s Government of Nepal and the Nepal Family Health Program recently asked the ACQUIRE Project to coordinate a strategic review of the national family planning program.

read more >>>

How Little is Enough?: The Evidence for Post-Vasectomy Testing

The Journal of Urology recently published a letter to the editor by ACQUIRE team member John Pile and co-authors Mark A. Barone, Michel Labrecque, and David C. Sokal. read more>>> (PDF, 122KB)

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