Routine population-based surveys and other recent studies show that the private sector—and in particular, pharmacies and drug shops—is a significant source of care for seekers of family planning and sick child care.¹ These providers are often the first line of health care, especially in areas that lack public or private health facilities.²

The family planning and child health communities of practice increasingly recognize the potential of task-sharing selected Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) and family planning (FP) services with pharmacies and drug shops. In this review, MOMENTUM Private Healthcare Delivery found that typically, task-sharing initiatives have offered training content that is focused on only one health area, and that these initiatives miss an opportunity to highlight barriers clients may experience due to their gender or age. Integrating iCCM and FP training content offers greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and it requires less time away from places of business for this cadre of health workers, which operates in a fast-paced retail environment. Further, an integrated approach can strengthen health outcomes in both health areas and offer a model for greater integration at the service delivery level for a population’s key health priorities. The evidence base for an integrated approach includes:

• USAID has noted pharmacy and drug shop provision of family planning as a promising High Impact Practice (HIP) that can expand contraceptive choice and access. For youth in particular, pharmacies and drug shops are typically an important source of FP products and services. In one study cited, youth constituted one-third of all pharmacy and drug shop clients in countries with a modern contraceptive prevalence rate lower than 20 percent. Other studies show that in contexts as diverse as Bangladesh, Tanzania, Nigeria, Uganda and Nepal, pharmacy and drug shop staff have safely and effectively provided a wide range of FP information and methods, including injectables.^3,4
• The Enhancing Quality iCCM through Proprietary and Patent Medical Vendors (PPMV) and Partnerships (EQuiPP) Approach implemented under the USAID-funded Maternal and Child Survival Program also showed promising results, including a 75 percent average increase in the proportion of children with fever who were appropriately tested for malaria amongst trained PPMV providers.⁵ 

Study results like these demonstrate that with appropriate training and support, pharmacy and drug shop staff can effectively contribute to improved FP and child health outcomes.

MOMENTUM Private Healthcare Delivery has created a global curriculum—shaped by MOMENTUM’s approach to move integrated quality health services to scale—that integrates iCCM and family planning content and includes gender- and youth-related themes. The training has been tailored to acknowledge the range of capabilities and contexts associated with this health cadre, who serve high volumes of health and non-health clients. We have adapted and tested the materials in Madagascar, and results on the curriculum’s acceptability by providers, feasibility of implementation, and effectiveness in improving family planning and child health service delivery are expected by April 2025.

Recognizing the importance of locally led development and local systems to realizing USAID’s commitment to localization, MOMENTUM Private Healthcare Delivery invites the global family planning and child health communities of practice to review, adapt and implement these materials in their own global and local programs.  We offer this resource as a catalyst for further initiatives related to task-sharing with this cadre, as well as integrating these two important health areas.