USAID/Egypt has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for its new Family Planning (FP) Activity, aligning with Egypt’s National Population Strategy (NPS) for 2023-2030 and Egypt Vision 2030. This initiative, in partnership with Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP), aims to address challenges in FP access and service quality, aiming to reduce population growth and improve maternal and child health. The RFI seeks innovative approaches, evidence-based solutions, and stakeholder input on strategies to support high-impact FP practices and enhance outreach to underserved areas. While USAID does not commit to issuing a formal solicitation based on this RFI, it encourages organizations to submit feedback by December 12, 2024.

The RFI invites insights on several areas, including strategies to reduce FP discontinuation, improve counseling to address side effects, and integrate technology for education and behavior change. The discussions from the SEFPP and OSRA projects highlight prevalent challenges, such as misinformation about FP methods, high discontinuation rates due to side effects, and significant influence from family members, including husbands and mothers-in-law, on FP decision-making. Women’s decisions to use FP methods are often influenced by economic considerations, local norms favoring larger families, and access barriers like distance to health centers and long wait times at clinics. Private sector healthcare providers also contribute to negative perceptions of public FP services by promoting private methods as superior.

Community-based approaches in the RFI include training local health workers, offering mobile clinics to increase accessibility, and implementing digital tools like WhatsApp for targeted communications. Healthcare providers face substantial workloads and resource constraints, with recommendations for improved task-sharing among healthcare workers, continuous training on FP methods, and the expansion of mobile clinic services to increase method accessibility. Some providers also suggest integrating FP awareness with broader health initiatives and utilizing technology to streamline patient follow-ups and data collection.

Technology remains underutilized in rural areas due to limited internet access and device availability. While higher-educated women sometimes use digital tools like Google and Facebook to learn about FP, rural women tend to rely on in-person discussions with local health workers and community members. The RFI responses advocate for enhanced digital literacy and trusted online FP information sources, potentially involving platforms like TikTok and Facebook for reaching younger audiences. Suggestions include establishing small, locally managed WhatsApp groups for direct communication and promoting an MoHP hotline for accessible, reliable FP information.

USAID intends to use the feedback from this RFI to refine its approach to supporting Egypt’s FP objectives, with potential future solicitations addressing these findings.