Strengthening Family Planning Services in Ethiopia
A major push to strengthen postpartum family planning (PPFP) services in Ethiopia is underway, as healthcare professionals from primary hospitals and health centers across the Oromia and South Ethiopia regions complete a specialized blended training program.
The Ethiopian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ESOG), in close cooperation with the Oromia Regional Health Bureau, the South Ethiopia Regional Health Bureau, and Engender Health, arranged the in-person training through the RMNCH+PPFP Scale-up Project from July 27 to August 1, 2026.
Participants from Oromia attended sessions at the Adama Health Science and Medical College CPD Center, while those from South Ethiopia attended sessions at the Arba Minch General Hospital CPD Center.
In order to close knowledge and ability gaps during the crucial postpartum period—a time when unmet family planning needs are most urgent—the training expands from previous initiatives in high-caseload institutions to low-caseload facilities.
The curriculum gave providers the necessary skills for counseling and the insertion and removal of postpartum intrauterine contraceptives (PP-IUCDs) by combining theoretical teaching with practical experience. Attendees attained competency, exhibiting confidence and preparedness to provide high-quality family planning services at their facilities, according to performance scores monitored across all participating sites.
Postpartum family planning is essential to the health of mothers and newborns, this training ensures that even lower-caseload facilities can offer the same high standard of care, reaching women at the moment they need it most.
A consortium coordinated by Engender Health, in collaboration with ESOG, the Ethiopian Midwives Association (EMwA), the Ethiopian Pediatrics Society (EPS), and St. Paul’s Millennium Medical College, is carrying out the RMNCH+PPFP Scale-up Project. By working together, the consortium is enhancing reproductive, maternity, neonatal, and child health (RMNCH) services in Amhara, Oromia, Sidama, South Ethiopia, Central Ethiopia, and Addis Ababa, guaranteeing that health professionals across the country are prepared to provide high-quality reproductive health care.