Improving Reproductive Health Services for Urban Poor

Half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, and almost all global population growth will occur in towns and cities in developing countries in the coming decades. As the world’s urban poor population increases, the need for reproductive health services also is accelerating. The Urban Health Initiative (UHI) addresses family planning and reproductive health needs of the urban poor in India, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal.

ICRW, through the Measurement, Learning and Evaluation (MLE) project, will conduct rigorous evaluations of the UHI in Uttar Pradesh, India. The goal is to measure the project’s impact on the prevalence of contraceptives, identify which interventions are most cost-effective and which ones are most likely to increase the use of contraceptives among the urban poor. The UHI project will explore a variety of approaches to improve the availability of contraceptives, such as integrating family planning into existing maternal and child health services and improving demand through vouchers. Ultimately, the MLE project aims to assist the Uttar Pradesh government in revitalizing the state’s family planning program in urban areas.

The MLE website features selected research and publications on urban reproductive health, presentations, feature stories and updates on activities. Visit MLE’s website to access ICRW’s report on the findings from an analysis of the baseline survey results from urban samples in six cities in Uttar Pradesh, India.