The Haitian government, in collaboration with the U.S. Government, has implemented a program to improve access to family planning services in Haiti. The program aims to reduce the unmet need for family planning, which currently stands at 23.7 percent of all women in Haiti. This unmet need results in approximately 611,000 Haitian women wanting to avoid or delay pregnancy but not using an effective method of contraception.
As a result, more than 175,000 women experience an unintended pregnancy each year, which can have serious consequences for mothers and children. In 2012 alone, an estimated 300 women died from pregnancy-related causes, 4,600 infants died in their first year of life, and 2,600 children likely died before their fifth birthday due to below-optimal birth spacing. The U.S. Government has provided assistance to improve the country’s health commodity supply chains and to better serve those who need family planning.
From FY2009 to 2013, the U.S. Government spent almost $7 million to purchase more than 4.7 million doses of Depo-Provera injectable, 5.5 million cycles of oral contraceptives, 40,000 implants, and 900 Copper T-380A IUDs. These commodities had the potential to meet the needs of more than 1.7 million Haitian couples, preventing approximately 576,000 unintended pregnancies, 161,000 induced abortions, 18,000 infant deaths, and 10,000 child deaths due to improved birth spacing. The program also saved an estimated $28.4 million in direct healthcare spending.
The USAID | DELIVER PROJECT has been instrumental in implementing robust logistics solutions, promoting supportive commodity security environments, procuring health commodities, and building lasting local capacity. The project has developed and strengthened reliable and sustainable public health supply chains, ensuring that contraceptives reach the women and men who need them. The estimated impact of USAID contraceptive commodity support in Haiti, by fiscal year, is as follows: couple-years of protection generated, unintended pregnancies averted, unintended live births averted, abortions averted, infant deaths averted, child deaths averted due to improved birth spacing, and maternal deaths averted.
The program’s success is evident in the significant reduction in unintended pregnancies, infant deaths, and maternal deaths. The estimated direct healthcare costs savings are substantial, with a total of $28.3 million saved from FY2009 to 2013. The program’s continued investment in procuring contraceptives and strengthening the national supply chain systems is essential to increasing access and reducing the unmet need for family planning in Haiti.