The new FP2020 Progress Report 2013-2014 highlights the remarkable worldwide progress in family planning since the London Summit two years ago, including through IntraHealth International’s informed push model of contraceptive distribution in Senegal.

In the past year, 8.4 million more women and girls around the world began using modern methods of contraception. According to the report, that translates into lives saved for 125,000 women and girls, as well as 77 million unintended pregnancies averted.

Such progress relies upon the constant, reliable distribution of contraceptives to countries such as Senegal, where demand remains high.

“The informed push model is a game-changer for health workers and clinics that, in the past, have struggled to keep popular contraceptive methods in stock,” says Pape Gaye, president and CEO of IntraHealth. “Health workers are motivated by knowing that they can offer clients their preferred methods, rather than having to suggest they try something else or come back later. It makes a difference for Senegalese health workers and the communities they serve, and we are starting to see a real increase in contraceptive use by meeting clients’ needs.”

From the report:

THE INFORMED PUSH MODEL

In Senegal, as in many poor countries, one reason women do not use contraceptives is because the products are simply not available. Gaps in the supply chain mean that stock-outs are a frequent occurrence at pharmacies and clinics. That spells serious problems for contraceptive users. When a woman is unable to refill her pills or get her next three-month injectable, her contraceptive protection is gone. Supply limitations also mean that many locations offer only one or two types of products—making it difficult for women to find and stick with a method that works for them. A 2011 study in Senegal found that 84% of women had experienced a stock-out of their preferred contraceptive in the past year.

The Informed Push Model of distribution promises to change all that. Instead of relying on pharmacies and clinics to keep track of their inventory and call in orders, the push model employs the same kind of system that is used in the commercial sector for vending machines. A driver with a truckful of supplies visits each point of sale on a regular schedule, topping up the stock and recording quantities of products sold. The data collected by the driver is used to ensure that there is sufficient stock at the warehouse and at each site, and to prime the manufacturers to keep pace with demand. On the systemic level, the information can be used by regional and national decision makers to figure out which contraceptives are most popular and where.

The government of Senegal and IntraHealth pilot-tested the Informed Push Model in Pikine between February and July 2012. Stock-outs of contraceptive pills, injectables, implants and IUDs were completely eliminated at the 14 public health facilities in Pikine over the six months of the pilot project. The government then expanded the model to all 140 public facilities in the Dakar region and six months later the stock-out rates in the region dropped below 2%. Now the Informed Push Model is being rolled out nationwide and is expected to be in place across the country by the end of 2015. Funding for the rapid national rollout is being supplied by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Merck for Mothers.

“In a single year, from 2012 to 2013, we’ve seen the number of women and girls using modern methods of contraception rise by 8.4 million,” says Dr. Roy Jacobstein, senior medical advisor at IntraHealth. “This is excellent progress, and very encouraging. But we can do more. We can start by focusing on the health workforce and making sure health workers everywhere are ready and able to provide the best family planning services possible.”

Read the full FP2020 Progress Report 2013-2014.

IntraHealth’s work in Senegal with the informed push model is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Merck for Mothers.