PROGRESS (Program Research for Strengthening Services) focuses on improving family planning services among underserved populations in developing countries. The project works through research, utilization of research results, and capacity building. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded the five-year project to FHI in June 2008.
PROGRESS is committed to building the capacity of researchers and health program managers to apply new knowledge, and it will promote the scale-up of existing and new research findings globally. The project works at global and country levels. Activities fall into three technical areas, shown below.
Global Technical Leadership
Activities seek to advance evidence-based policies and practices that can help make contraceptive options available through expanded service-delivery options. FHI recently worked with the World Health Organization and USAID to convene a Technical Consultation on Expanding Access to Injectable Contraception.
Country-Level Activities
Activities include conducting operations research studies in collaboration with local stakeholders, building capacity of research institutions, and providing technical assistance to key stakeholders to advance evidence-based practices. Currently, PROGRESS is working in Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
Technical Areas
Task Sharing to Expand Contraceptive Access
Appropriately trained lower-level health workers can safely provide contraceptives and thus increase access to family planning for underserved populations. PROGRESS is expanding the research evidence and knowledge base to enable this maximizing of human resources and to promote the utilization of findings in scaled-up programs. Read more
Expanding Service Delivery Options
Family planning services need to take advantage of multiple service-delivery options, including such health systems as immunization services as well as development efforts in agriculture and the environmental fields. PROGRESS is initiating innovative research efforts in these areas and promoting utilization of new tools and evidence.
Expanding Contraceptive Method Mix
Investments in new and improved contraceptive technologies need to take into account the needs and constraints of users, the community, and lower-level providers. Activities are designed to expand the mix of existing methods where access is limited, including the evaluation of the use of generic products that lower costs and expand access.
More Information
The PROGRESS management team is lead by: Dr. Maggwa Baker, Director; Dr. John Stanback, Deputy Director, Research; and Rose DeBuysscher, Deputy Director, Management.
For more information on PROGRESS, please contact us.
