Family planning in challenging environments

What are the challenges experienced in delivering family planning programmes? Here, Joan Summers, International Programme Support Director at Marie Stopes International, explains some of these challenges and provides further detail around why political, cultural, and supply-side barriers are more pronounced in some settings.

To address these barriers it is essential that programmes aim to understand client needs in different contexts, and that they involve influential community, religious and political leaders in planning.

This step has focused on providing contraceptive services in challenging environments. Next, we will think along similar lines but look specifically at abortion.