Since 1992, USAID has provided guidance to the international family planning community
to reduce medical barriers defined as "practices, derived at least partly from a
medical rationale, that result in a scientifically unjustifiable impediment to, or denial
of, contraception."1
In 1994, USAID shaped a broader, more comprehensive initiative called Maximizing Access
and Quality (MAQ) which will focus on strengthening the following key areas:
- Client–Provider Interaction
- Management–Supervision
- Technical Competence–Guidance
- Policy, Advocacy, Communication and Education (PACE)
1Shelton JD, Angle MA, Jacobstein RA. Medical
barriers to family planning. The Lancet; 340:1334-35, 1992.
In 1992, the Africa Bureau of USAID awarded a project contract to the Academy for
Educational Development (AED) to assist the Bureau's Sustainable Development Division
(formerly Health and Human Resources) in the implementation of its Health and Human
Resources Analysis for Africa (HHRAA) Project. This project contract has been designated
Support for Analysis and Research in Africa (SARA). SARA's role in the HHRAA project is to
provide research management and technical support, disseminate research and analysis
findings and encourage linkages with African experts and institutions. JHPIEGO's Research
and Evaluation Office has organized several population and reproductive health activities
through the SARA project, including the East and Southern African regional workshop, Improving
Quality of Care and Access to Contraception: Reducing Medical Barriers, held in
Zimbabwe in February 1994.
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This bulletin was prepared by the JHPIEGO MAQ Task Force with funding from
HHRAA/SARA and USAID.
Senior Editor: Sandra de Castro Buffington
Writer/Editor: Chris Davis
Production Editor: Jennifer Butler
Technical Editor: Harshad Sanghvi
Contributors: Susan Farrall, Lynne Gaffikin, Lauren Hudspeth, Rick
Hughes, Connie Husman, Barbara Kinzie, Teresa McInerney, Suzanne Prysor-Jones
Photos: John Riber, Sue Griffey-Brechin |
continued on pg. 2
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East and Southern Africa