Benin
We collaborate with local and national partners to help everyone in Benin, especially young people, access high-quality voluntary family planning and reproductive health information, counseling, products, and services.
A small country on the west coast of Africa, Benin is home to a very young population. Beninese women and children live longer lives than ever before, yet widespread poverty still makes it hard for many–particularly marginalized groups such as women and young people–to access quality health services.
MOMENTUM partners with national and local organizations in Benin to build and strengthen the capacity of the private sector so more people can access high-quality family planning products and services. With more access to contraception, Beninese women can avoid unintended pregnancies and plan to have children when it is best for them and their families.
Expanding Access to Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care
More than a third of Beninese women who use modern contraception obtain it through the private sector.1 MOMENTUM partners with private health facilities, pharmacies, and other private health service providers throughout the country to expand access to high-quality family planning information, counseling, products, and services. We help train private health care providers to improve the quality of care they provide to their clients. We also support them to collect and use health data so that reproductive health services are more accessible and available in their communities. We support a closely connected network of private health workers and clinic owners, helping hone their business skills so that high-quality family planning services are accessible long term.
MOMENTUM also partners with local professional associations and local stakeholders in the public health sector, including the Beninese Ministry of Health, to help the programs with which we work become more sustainable. In addition, we help organize mobile health clinics to bring family planning services to people in rural areas who have limited access to health care.
Partnering With Youth Organizations to Create Innovative Health Programs
Forty-six percent of Benin’s population is under age 15,2 making the voices of local youth critical to creating innovative health programs that respond to their needs, now and in the future. MOMENTUM collaborates with local organizations to develop family planning programming in Benin, increasing their capacity to run similar programs in the future. MOMENTUM staff also work alongside Beninese youth to jointly design and lead activities so that programs are tailored to meet their unique needs and preferences for family planning and reproductive health services.
Using Digital Tools to Reach Youth with Family Planning and Reproductive Health Services
As Benin’s young population continues to grow, the country’s health policies have recognized the importance of youth-friendly health services.3 To support Benin’s commitment to its young people, MOMENTUM works with the Centres Jeunes Amour & Vie (Love and Life Youth Centers) to reach youth with family planning information and services using digital tools. The centers’ online presence, which includes Facebook pages, will be expanded with an automated chatbot that will provide family planning information and counseling and connect users to youth-friendly reproductive health services. We will also partner with a cohort of youth ambassadors to help them share family planning information with their peers and to test new digital tools.
MOMENTUM Private Healthcare Delivery supports Beninese private providers and expands public and private partnerships in the country to strengthen family planning and reproductive health services.
References
- USAID and Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus. Sources of Family Planning: Benin. November 2019. https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00WQ1Q.pdf.
- Kaneda, Greenbaum, and Haub, 2021 World Population Data Sheet.
- Power, Christine et al. “Youth Family Planning Policy Scorecard.” Population Reference Bureau. 2019. https://scorecard.prb.org/youthfpscorecard/en/.