Expanding access to family planning has been a key aim of health and development programming for more than 40 years. During that time, significant gains have been made in reducing unmet need for family planning, increasing contraceptive prevalence, and preventing unintended pregnancies. Over the last two decades, however, the pace of these gains has slowed, especially in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Not only does family planning enable individuals and couples to achieve their childbearing (family building?) goals, an ever growing body of research shows the wider beneficial impact of family planning on improving maternal and child health and survival, increasing economic well-being of individuals, families and communities, and empowering women. i , ii Today, the international community and many developing countries are aiming to accelerate progress, as made evident by the collective embrace of FP2020. Simultaneously, the world is reflecting on achievements reached and on gaps remaining in the years since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio) of 1992, the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) of 1994, and the Millennium Summit of 2000, which established the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). A post-2015 agenda is quickly coming into focus, aiming to merge the streams of Rio+20 sustainable development goals, ICPD Beyond 2014, and the post-MDG development agenda. Consensus is mounting on the vision and benchmarks for ending preventable child deaths, eliminating preventable maternal deaths, and creating an AIDS-free generation. Now is the time to put i By preventing unintended pregnancies, FP has reduced maternal mortality by 44 percent and could reduce it by another 29 percent if all women with unmet need for family planning became contraceptive users. Maternal deaths averted by contraceptive use: an analysis of 172 countries http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/ PIIS0140-6736(12)60478-4/abstract ii By preventing closely spaced births, FP could save the lives of more than 2 million children every year.

No abstract

This study assesses the utility of Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) questions regarding women's empowerment in the context of sub-Saharan Africa. We examine the use of, and need for improvements to, women's empowerment data in Ghana, Mozambique, Senegal, and Uganda. Drawing on interviews conducted among gender and health experts and on context-specific literature, our findings reveal that although DHS data are widely used, data needs remain in five areas: economic empowerment, knowledge of legal rights and recourse, participation in decisionmaking, attitudes and social norms, and adolescent girls. We recommend that Demographic and Health Surveys be modified-for example, through adding specific survey items-to fulfill some but not all of these emerging women's empowerment data needs. We also suggest that other surveys fill known gaps and that data users carefully consider the meaning and relative weight of the women's empowerment items according to the cultural context in which the data are collected.

Expanding access to family planning (FP) is a driving aim of global and national FP efforts. The definition and measurement of access, however, remain nebulous, largely due to complexity. This article aims to bring clarity to the measurement of FP access. First, we synthesize key access elements for measurement by reviewing three well-known frameworks. We then assess the extent to which the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)-a widely used data source for FP programs and research-has information to measure these elements. We finally examine barriers to access by element, using the latest DHS data from four countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We discuss opportunities and limitations in the measurement of access, the importance of careful interpretation of data from population-based surveys, and recommendations for collecting and using data to better measure access.

This study assesses the quality of Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data regarding self-reported current use of the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM). LAM is an important modern contraceptive method that, when practiced correctly, has a 98 percent effectiveness rate six-months postpartum. The objectives of this study are to examine the accuracy of self-reported LAM use, compared with the constructed correct-practice variable, and to explore differentials in accuracy measures by characteristics at the individual and survey level by analyzing data from 73 DHSs conducted in 45 countries between 1998 and 2011. Findings reveal that only 26 percent of reported LAM users meet the criteria for correct LAM practice. We discuss the implications for future DHS data collection and for family planning and maternal and child health programming.