The jagged road to a policy change: increasing access to family planning using community health nurses

Dela Kusi-Appouh, Population Council
Ama Acquah, Independent Consultant
Placide Tapsoba, Population Council

In this paper, we describe the phases leading to the successful adoption of a policy allowing community health nurses in Ghana to provide contraceptive implants. The paper highlights the lessons learned on integrating a task-sharing policy into the national reproductive health agenda and to increase access to family planning. We emphasize the multiple actors and roles that were needed to effectuate this policy change and enable its implementation at the sub-national level. We also underscore the effect of funding instability on evidence generation, advocacy, implementation and the overall progression of the process. Finally, we emphasize the lead role taken by the Population Council, a health research organization, in order to move the policy change process forward and facilitate the operationalisation of the policy.