Using Mapping of Service Delivery Sites to Increase Contraceptive Availability in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

The DRC’s National Program for Reproductive Health—the government office charged with coordinating and overseeing family planning—has lacked the human and financial resources to effectively carry out its role. As of 2011, at least 10 local and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were providing some type of family planning service delivery in Kinshasa; however, each tended to work in isolation. Although these groups have worked diligently to attain their own project objectives, there was no coordinated effort to collectively increase contraceptive prevalence in Kinshasa. This special report presents a case study of a promising model for increasing contraceptive availability in Kinshasa, which could be replicated in other large cities in the DRC and elsewhere in the region.