Adapting High Impact Practices in Family Planning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences From Kenya, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe.

BACKGROUND

We describe how High Impact Practices (HIPs) in family planning (FP) were adapted across Kenya, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe to maintain access to services in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

METHODS

Using a qualitative data collection tool structured around 3 HIP categories (service delivery, demand creation, and enabling environment), adaptations in FP programs during the pandemic were documented. We describe adaptations made to 3 specific HIPs: mobile outreach, community health workers, and digital health for social and behavior change.

PROGRAM EXPERIENCES

In Zimbabwe, the Mhuri/Imuli project adapted its mobile outreach model integrating community-based outreach with facility-based outreach. The number of outreach clients served per week peaked at 1,759 (July 2020) from a low of 203 (May 2020). Clients choosing long-acting reversible methods increased from 22% to 59% during the 3 months before and after lockdown, respectively.In Kenya, a program addressed youth's hesitation to visit health facilities through youth community health volunteers, who provided counseling, community dialogues, contraceptive pills, and condoms. Over 6 months, the program reached 1,048 youth with community dialogues, and 4,656 youth received FP services. In Nigeria, peer mobilizers provided services through a socially distanced community-based program to help adolescent girls access contraceptive self-injection when movement restrictions limited youth's ability to travel to facilities.In Nigeria, Adolescents 360 adapted sexual and reproductive health information programs for virtual delivery through WhatsApp. A contraceptive education Facebook campaign gained more than 80,000 followers, reached 5.9 million adolescents, and linked 330 adolescents to program-supported facilities from January to March 2021. In Kenya, the Kibera-based project used WhatsApp to reach youth with discussion groups and health workers with skills strengthening.

CONCLUSION

Monitoring how projects adapt HIPs to ensure continuity of care during the COVID-19 pandemic can help inform the implementation of successful adaptations in the face of present and future challenges.