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Globally, there are considerable barriers to accessing safe and effective contraceptive methods. Increased awareness and utilization among obstetricians and gynecologists (OB/GYNs) and allied health professionals of the WHO's tools and guidelines on contraception is a possible avenue to changing this. A cascade-training model, based on regional training-of-trainer workshops followed by national workshops, was used to share key WHO global family planning tools and guidelines among OB/GYNs in 29 countries across three regions-Anglophone Africa, Middle East and Mediterraean, and Francophone West Africa. Monitoring and evaluation was performed through pre- and post-knowledge questionnaires as well as in-depth interviews of key informants before and after the training was instituted. The training increased both participants' knowledge and understanding of the relevant guidelines, as well as their confidence in using them. Qualitative data suggested that this improved in-country clinical practice and influenced national policy through dissemination and engagement with country leadership. The cascade-training model was a practical, locally adaptable means of disseminating up-to-date WHO family planning guidelines and tools. It resulted in sustainable changes in many participating countries, including training curriculum updates, policy changes, and increased government engagement with family planning. Future iterations of the initiative would benefit from additional support for multidisciplinary training., (© 2023 The Authors. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.)

An essential, but often overlooked part of health promotion and development support to achieve self-sufficiency in developing countries is the concomitant need to build and strengthen research capacity. This is even more challenging and critical in the area of sexual and reproductive health because of diverse interplay of socio cultural, religious, economic factors in relation to reproductive health.This paper presents the case study of HRP's efforts to build research capacity in Latin America by studying and analyzing the 5-year history of institutional development support to an institution in Paraguay. In reviewing the efforts, we identify the strengths in the approaches used by HRP, the challenges and outcomes of the process and we present recommendations for future efforts to strengthen research capacity to improve sexual and reproductive health. The authors call for greater support from and collaborative efforts of developmental partners and governments to strengthen research capacity in low and middle-income countries to improve sexual and reproductive health.

Background: Strengthening contraceptive services in sub Saharan Africa is critical to achieve the FP 2020 goal of enabling 120 million more women and girls to access and use contraceptives by 2020 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets of universal access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services including family planning by 2030. Method: The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners have designed a multifaceted project to strengthen health systems to reduce the unmet need of contraceptive and family planning services in sub Saharan Africa. The plan leverages global, regional and national partnerships to facilitate and increase the use of evidence based WHO guidelines with a specific focus on postpartum family planning. The four key approaches undertaken are i) making WHO Guidelines adaptable & appropriate for country use ii) building capacity of WHO regional/country staff iii) providing technical support to countries and iv) strengthening partnerships for introduction and implementation of WHO guidelines. This paper describes the project design and elaborates the multifaceted approaches required in initial implementation to strengthen contraceptive services. Conclusion: The initial results from this project reflect that simultaneous application these approaches may strengthen contraceptive services in Sub Saharan Africa and ensure sustainability of the efforts. The lessons learned may be used to scale up and expand services in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]