IntraHealth has more than a decade of experience in Benin working with the Ministry of Health and the private sector to strengthen family health services—including maternal and neonatal care, emergency obstetric services, and family planning—and to put national family health protocols into practice.

Currently, IntraHealth is supporting civil society organizations and leaders to promote the acceptance and use of family planning in Benin and other countries in French-speaking West Africa where rates of contraceptive use remain low. The initiative challenges civil society groups and governments to establish stronger partnerships to promote successful, collaborative solutions to helping couples make educated choices about family size.

As part of this effort, the growing use of social media in the region is being tapped, with local experts training civil society members in using Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as platforms for family planning messaging.


Selected Achievements

Established coalitions of civil society organization in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Senegal to participate in the guidance and management of national family planning activities.
Created youth ambassador programs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Senegal to train and mentor youth advocates for family planning.
Developed and disseminated national health service norms and protocols in Benin.

IntraHealth assisted the Ministry of Health in developing and applying national service protocols covering women; common reproductive health services; and men, youth, and children. Health workers in five regions significantly improved their knowledge and skills in the use of the protocols through training conducted at their facilities.

 

Enhanced the skills of private-sector health workers (at franchised clinics) in family planning and active management of the third stage of labor (AMTSL) in Benin.
Trained pharmacists in Benin to deliver family planning counseling and services using an innovative, self-directed learning approach.
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