Use of evaluation results to expand access to family planning

A year ago today, on World Contraception Day, UNFPA Evaluation Office released the Mid-Term Evaluation of the UNFPA Supplies programme. In this one year, UNFPA Supplies has taken critical steps in applying the lessons learned from the evaluation to improve the programme, as it prepares for its third phase.

Watch Louis Charpentier (Evaluation Manager) and Gifty Addico (Chief, Commodity Security Branch) outline use of evaluation results to improve UNFPA Supplies programme

The Supplies programme underpins nearly all aspects of UNFPA mission to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. The programme ensures a secure, steady and reliable supply of contraceptives and maternal health medicines, including in humanitarian areas.

Responding to the evaluation recommendations, the Supplies programme has, in particular, set up a financial bridge mechanism and addressed supply chain bottlenecks so that women and adolescent girls can access a choice of contraceptives no matter where they live. Furthermore, the programme has explored ways to strengthen a human-rights based approach to the provision of family planning services. As the programme prepares for its third phase, a new governance and oversight mechanism has also been established to improve transparency.

The Evaluation Office actively facilitates the use of evaluation results for improving learning, performance and accountability. As we mark the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development, the evaluation results are also shaping the consultative processes on efforts to end unmet need for family planning. Now more than ever, the importance of timely action to utilize evaluative evidence and incorporate lessons learned into decision-making is a critical pathway to achieve rights and choices for all by 2030.