Annual Report: Healthy Women of Ukraine Program, Project Year 1

The program aimed to protect the reproductive health of Ukrainian women and couples by increasing the use of modern methods of contraception as an alternative to unwanted pregnancies and associated abortions. HWUP worked in two groups of oblasts: Group (A) consisted of Kirovohrad, Luhansk, Ternopil, and Zhytomyr, which were competitively selected to start in Year 1 out of the total twelve priority oblasts that did not receive previous USAID assistance. Group (B) included Cherkasy, Donetsk, and Khmelnyitsky, which received a moderate amount of USAID support between 2005-2011 and had the lowest number of trained providers coverage at the end of the USAID Together for Health project. Key accomplishments during the HWUP Year 1 included the finalization of qualitative reviews of existing FP/RH documents and interviews with key stakeholders to guide oblast roll-out and program implementation strategies. The results of these qualitative research efforts were used to develop the HWUP Implementation Approaches for Year 1, the National Communication Strategy, and the Oblast Roll-out competition and schedule. A limited competition process was completed between the twelve priority oblasts that did not receive USAID assistance in FP/RH during 2005-2011. Kirovohrad, Luhansk, Ternopil, and Zhytomyr scored the highest and were selected by the Oblast Prioritization Committee. The program also completed a comprehensive Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA) of the Women's Health and Family Planning Charitable Foundation (WH&FP) to identify areas for capacity building and improvement. The HWUP Indicator Matrix was developed to track progress towards the program's objectives, including enabling women of reproductive age and couples to make informed family planning and reproductive health choices, improving family planning service provider knowledge and skills, and promoting a national and regional policy environment conducive to family planning and reproductive health. The program also implemented a Small Grants Program for NGOs to support community-based initiatives and projects that promote family planning and reproductive health. The program's progress was monitored and evaluated through a comprehensive Project Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, which included tracking key indicators such as contraceptive prevalence rates, abortion rates, and reproductive health service utilization. Overall, the HWUP made significant progress in its first year of operation, laying the foundation for future success in promoting family planning and reproductive health in Ukraine.