Sustainable adolescent family planning and sexual and reproductive health programs : the PROFAMILIA/Colombia and FEMAP/Mexico models

These models are the PROFAMILIA Youth Center program in Colombia and the FEMAP for a Healthy Youth program in Mexico Many countries are working to provide young people with healthcare services that respond to their needs by having specially trained staff, reduced fees, outreach activities, and hours that are convenient. However, government programs are frequently unable to meet the increased demand for services, are insufficient in numbers, and have limited capacity. Increasingly, governments are turning to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to implement adolescent FP/SRH services. Such NGOs are striving to become financially sustainable; however, this sustainability is difficult to achieve due to the limited ability of adolescents to pay for services. The programs presented here have different financial strategies for achieving sustainability. It is hoped that these models will help other organizations implement or plan locally funded adolescent FP/SRH programs. (Excerpt)