PopDev-AIGHD research POPDEV-AIGHD  research

The POPDEV-AIGHD  research programme titled  Family planning and women's sexual and economic empowerment aims to disentangle the bi-directional relationship between womens empowerment and family planning.  The research is carried out bythe Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD) and the Amsterdam Institute of International Development (AIID) in close collaboration with researchers of the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) and the Mozambican Survey Firm WE-Consult.

The Universal Access to Female Condoms (UAFC) Joint Programme is one of the partners in the research programme and contributes financially (approximately one third of the overall budget). The reason to contribute to this research is the expectation that the impact evaluation of the Family Planning programme implemented by UAFC partner Pathfinder, embedded in the research, will yield valuable results about (impact of) FC programming in particular. More in general the research aims at giving more insight in economic empowerment of women through (better) access to contraceptives, in itself also a valuable argument in favor of female condom programming.

The research programme consists of two independent but interrelated quantitative studies (involving a total of 1200 women):
1) a sexual behavior study to examine how womens empowerment status, financial situation and bargaining power affect consistent use of family planning methods (sexual and financial diaries)
2) a fertility study to investigate the drivers of fertility decisions, including the impact of an additional child on womens economic position, social status and self-esteem (large scale representative cross-sectional survey).

The two quantitative studies are preceded by a qualitative study with the objective to determine perceptions, attitudes and barriers towards family planning, fertility and intra-household bargaining. This allows for a cultural assessment of how much (perceived) power women have over their sexual and reproductive health, and their socio-economic preferences.  To identify the impact of empowerment and negotiation skills, the Sexual Behavior study will be combined with a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a Family Planning training programme (the impact evaluation)  consisting of sexual diaries in combination with surveys administered at baseline, midterm and end line.

The outcomes of the three studies are expected to provide important insights that could feedback into the design of family planning programmes. Research will be conducted in line with international ethical standards and procedures.

Theprimary objective of the impact evaluation of the family planning programme (implemented by UAFC partner Pathfinder) is to investigate the impact of the FP Programme on:
1. Consistent use of contraceptives including the Female Condom
2. Empowerment, negotiation and decision-making skills
Secondary research objectives are:
3. To investigate the effects of male involvement in family planning programmes on both consistent use of contraceptives and female empowerment.
4. To investigate the sustainability of the effects three months after participation in the programme has ended.

The training  for women and the information package for men included in the family planing intervention discuss:
A. Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
B. Family Planning and contraceptives in general
C. Female Condoms in particular (general information, side-effects, usage, availability)
D. Negotiation skills, bargaining power and decision-making processes on sexual practices

The information package for men will focus on the importance of an open dialogue and equal decision-making within relationships.

The study will take into account a multitude of risk factors, such as: knowledge about family planning methods, number and type of sexual partners, and financial shortfalls that may affect bargaining power. The study focuses on women of reproductive age in the range of 18  49 years old.

The UAFC Joint Programme will receive the results of an independent, high-quality, rigorous impact evaluation of a family planning training programme in Mozambique, which includes a focus on female condoms.

The results of the impact evaluation and the broader research project, will assist UAFC Joint Programme in evaluatingthe success in use, adoption and effectiveness of female condoms in combination with more standard family planning methods, and guide their future implementation strategies worldwide and those of others. Due to UAFC's unique position as advisor to a number of large NGOs on female condom implementation policy, the results will also have an important policy impact.

The UAFC Joint Programme is a consortium of four organisations: Oxfam Novib, Rutgers WPF, i+solutions and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Oxfam Novib acts as contract manager for the consortium and also has the lead on the country programmes in Mozambique and Nigeria.