The Marie Stopes International Vietnam (MSI) plans to share a measurement tool for family planning programmes with Government agencies following its pilot use within MSI clinics, according to MSI country representative Nguyen Thi Bich Hang at the 2010 Asia-Pacific regional research workshop held in central coastal Nha Trang City.
This three-day workshop, which wraps up on October 7, was part of the MSI Research & Metrics Team's on-going research on sexual and reproductive health and family planning in the Asia-Pacific Region.
The measurement tool, called the Impact Calculator, was introduced by Marie Stopes International in 2009. It is intended to help to accurately calculate the effect of family planning programmes on health, economics and the environment, said Hang.
She said this tool helps to evaluate family planning performance and can, consequently, give clear evidence for policymakers to establish long-term policies.
The Impact Calculator can calculate demographic and health impacts, such as the number of pregnancies and abortions averted, the number of maternal, infant and adolescent deaths prevented. The tool can also calculate economic impacts, such as the total savings of households, and community and health systems. And finally, it accounts for environmental impacts, such as the ecological footprints averted.
As of July, 109 private health clinics of BlueStar Network, which operated under supervision of MSI, provided family planning services for nearly 446,000 clients. About a quarter of them received modern contraceptive methods.
The Impact Calculator can translate this set of data to show that nearly 17,000 USD had been saved and nearly 68,000 abortion cases had been averted.
This tool has been made available for use in more than 40 countries worldwide./.
This three-day workshop, which wraps up on October 7, was part of the MSI Research & Metrics Team's on-going research on sexual and reproductive health and family planning in the Asia-Pacific Region.
The measurement tool, called the Impact Calculator, was introduced by Marie Stopes International in 2009. It is intended to help to accurately calculate the effect of family planning programmes on health, economics and the environment, said Hang.
She said this tool helps to evaluate family planning performance and can, consequently, give clear evidence for policymakers to establish long-term policies.
The Impact Calculator can calculate demographic and health impacts, such as the number of pregnancies and abortions averted, the number of maternal, infant and adolescent deaths prevented. The tool can also calculate economic impacts, such as the total savings of households, and community and health systems. And finally, it accounts for environmental impacts, such as the ecological footprints averted.
As of July, 109 private health clinics of BlueStar Network, which operated under supervision of MSI, provided family planning services for nearly 446,000 clients. About a quarter of them received modern contraceptive methods.
The Impact Calculator can translate this set of data to show that nearly 17,000 USD had been saved and nearly 68,000 abortion cases had been averted.
This tool has been made available for use in more than 40 countries worldwide./.
