Stakeholder perceptions of a total market approach to family planning in Nicaragua Percepciones de grupos interesados sobre la aplicación de un enfoque de mercado total a la planificación familiar en Nicaragua

• Main Authors: Jennifer Kidwell Drake, Henry Espinoza, Chutima Suraratdecha, Yann Lacayo, Bonnie M. Keith, Janet G. Vail
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Portuguese
• Published: Pan American Health Organization 2011
• Subjects: Servicios de planificación familiar; política de salud; asociación entre el sector público-privado; Nicaragua; Family planning services; health policy; public-private sector partnerships; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic; Mercado
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/08f4e81258f442399a44393ec0ecdac0

OBJECTIVE: To assess private-sector stakeholders' and donors' perceptions of a total market approach (TMA) to family planning in Nicaragua in the context of decreased funding; to build evidence for potential strategies and mechanisms for TMA implementation (including public-private partnerships (PPPs)); and to identify information gaps and future priorities for related research and advocacy. METHODS: A descriptive exploratory study was conducted in various locations in Nicaragua from March to April 2010. A total of 24 key private-sector stakeholders and donors were interviewed and their responses analyzed using two questionnaires and a stakeholder analysis tool (PolicyMakerTM software). RESULTS: All survey participants supported a TMA, and public-private collaboration, in family planning in Nicaragua. Based on the survey responses, opportunities for further developing PPPs for family planning include building on and expanding existing governmental frameworks, such as Nicaragua's current coordination mechanism for contraceptive security. Obstacles include the lack of ongoing government engagement with the commercial (for-profit) sector and confusion about regulations for its involvement in family planning. Strategies for strengthening existing PPPs include establishing a coordination mechanism specifically for the commercial sector and collecting and disseminating evidence supporting public-private collaboration in family planning. CONCLUSIONS: There was no formal or absolute opposition to a TMA or PPPs in family planning in Nicaragua among a group of diverse nongovernmental stakeholders and donors. This type of study can help identify strategies to mobilize existing and potential advocates in achieving articulated policy goals, including diversification of funding sources for family planning to achieve contraceptive security. OBJETIVO: Evaluar las percepciones de los grupos interesados y de los donantes del sector privado sobre la aplicación de un enfoque de mercado total a la planificación familiar en Nicaragua ...