On November 7, 2014, the Ministry of Health of Burkina Faso signed an important memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Advance Family Planning partner Equilibres & Population (EquiPop) authorizing a task-sharing pilot project for family planning services. The authorization allows certified nurses and auxiliary birth attendants to administer long-acting and permanent contraceptive methods (IUDs and implants) and permits community health workers to offer first prescriptions of the pill and administer contraceptive injectables through a pilot project.
The MOU is the result of coordinated advocacy by the Technical Working Group for Reproductive Health (GT/SR). With the government, the GT/SR—of which Equilibres & Populations is a member—will be responsible for next steps to implement the policy.
EquiPop plans to coordinate the pilot over a two-year period (2015-2016) in the Centre and Boucle du Mouhoun regions. The GT/SR is currently finalizing the budget and mobilizing resources to fund the pilot.
This achievement is a significant one; a successful pilot will help make the case for establishing family planning task-sharing policies nationwide. This will go far in contributing to access and uptake of modern contraceptive methods in a country marked by a low contraceptive prevalence rate (15%) and high unmet family planning needs (24%).[1]
Garnering support for task-sharing has been an advocacy priority for EquiPop since 2012. They have directed advocacy efforts towards the Ministry of Health (MoH), which had previously rejected such proposals.
With the support of AFP and the technical assistance of Futures Group, in collaboration with the MoH and other civil society organizations, EquiPop organized a site visit for representatives from the Direction for Family Health (DSF) of the Burkinabe MoH and civil society to Togo, in order to learn from Togo’s experience using community health workers in the first prescription of the pill and injectables.
Togo’s positive results led the Burkinabe Director of Family Health to support a MOU for task-sharing in Burkina Faso. Several workshops were organized between EquiPop and the MoH for the amendment and validation of the MOU. A project document on task-sharing supporting the implementation of the MOU was also elaborated upon and submitted to the MoH for its approval.
After several rounds of review, the MoH, through its Directorate of Family Health (DSF), submitted the document to the Minister of Health, who signed it on November 7, 2014.
The signing generated great satisfaction among civil society leaders, particularly the members of the GT/SR who led advocacy efforts targeting the MoH.
During AFP Year 3 EquiPop will work to mobilize resources and pilot task-sharing in Burkina Faso through the Association Burkinabe de Bien-Etre de la Famille (ABBEF) and Marie Stopes International.