PPIUD Services: Start-Up to Scale-Up Regional Meeting Burkina Faso February 3–5, 2014 Meeting Report

Agency for International Development (USAID), convened a regional meeting in West Africa to advance integration of postpartum intrauterine device (PPIUD) services into maternal health services. The meeting took place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from February 3 to 5, 2014, and brought together 48 participants from 11 countries for South-to-South learning and sharing of successes and challenges. The meeting objectives included strengthening participants' capacity to accelerate the integration of postpartum family planning (PPFP), including the PPIUD, into maternal health services. Presentations and discussions focused on the global evidence for PPFP and PPIUD, as well as an interactive forum to share successes and discuss challenges to implementing quality PPIUD services. Participants also visited PPIUD sites in Burkina Faso and interviewed providers about their experiences. The meeting featured the launch of the French version of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Programming Strategies for Postpartum Family Planning. Country teams analyzed the status of PPIUD introduction or scale-up, and a tutorial on PPIUD insertion was provided, including small-group demonstrations and practice on PPIUD insertion on models. PSI's dedicated PPIUD inserter was also introduced. Country experiences with and focused strategy discussions on the elements of a PPIUD program were also a key component of the meeting. These elements included provider training, client education, and service delivery, as well as the role of community health workers and the importance of integrating PPIUD services into existing maternal health services. The meeting provided a platform for participants to share their experiences and challenges in implementing PPIUD services, and to learn from each other's successes and failures. The meeting's objectives were to strengthen participants' capacity to accelerate the integration of PPIUD services into maternal health services, and to support the scale-up of PPIUD services in the region. The meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Health of Burkina Faso, and was attended by representatives from international and regional organizations, as well as government officials and health care workers from 11 countries. The meeting was made possible by the generous support of the American people through USAID, under the terms of the Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreement to the Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP) and the Cooperative Agreement Support for International Family Planning Organizations (SIFPO). The Association Burkinabè pour le Bien-Être Familial (ABBEF) and other local health care providers also played a key role in the meeting, welcoming participants and sharing their experiences with PPIUD services. The meeting's success was also due to the efforts of the Jhpiego Burkina Faso team, who provided logistical support and facilitated the meeting's activities. The meeting's outcomes and recommendations will be used to inform the scale-up of PPIUD services in the region, and to support the integration of PPIUD services into existing maternal health services. The meeting's success demonstrates the importance of South-to-South learning and collaboration in advancing the integration of PPIUD services into maternal health services.