Even in the 21st century, unintended pregnancies and unplanned births continue to profoundly disrupt women’s lives, health, and opportunities. Family planning remains one of the most powerful investments a nation can make to advance gender equity, strengthen public health, and promote economic prosperity. Access to voluntary family planning reduces poverty, lowers maternal and newborn deaths, and delivers measurable economic benefits for families and cities.
PSI India supports the government through initiatives such as Newer Contraceptive Project Roll Out; Strengthening Family Planning Intervention Across Bihar, and The Challenge Initiative India (TCI India) Together, these efforts aim to reduce maternal mortality by increasing the uptake of a voluntary basket of choice options. By engaging the private sector, expanding community access to modern contraceptive services, and building community-responsive systems, PSI India strengthens the health system and provides the technical support needed to ensure improved family planning outcomes.
PSI India strengthens health systems by creating a pool of “master coaches” at the district level through collaborative coaching and mentoring with government partners. This innovative approach maximizes the effective use of existing human resources, funding, service providers, infrastructure, equipment, and supplies.
Under the Newer Contraceptive Project roll out, a strong cadre of trained public-sector service providers is ready through regular trainings and orientation sessions.
Similarly, under the Strengthening Family Planning Intervention Across Bihar,, more than 1,500 training batches have been conducted on Minilap, IUCD/PPIUCD, and Antara injectable methods, strengthening provider competency and expanding access to quality family planning services.
Under TCI India project, master coaches play a pivotal role in sustaining the high impact interventions / practices such as Fixed Day Static services, data based decision making, even after cities graduate from PSI India’s direct support. Around 303,319 additional family planning clients benefited across 62 engaged local governments. Of these, more than 72% came from graduated cities.
PSI India believes in strengthening the technical and managerial capacities of healthcare officials to lead and implement evidence-based, high-impact interventions. By activating existing systems and driving systemic changes, this approach fosters empowerment, accountability, and long-term commitment among health system stakeholders. PSI India strongly believes that ‘local ownership’ is essential for lasting sustainability.
PSI India through The Challenge Initiative brings a core package of evidence-based, high-impact practices in an intervention city that has worked in previous family planning programs. These practices are provided in the form of a tool kit, which provides how-to-do guidance. Strongly committed and goal-oriented technical and coaching support is provided to the city government to implement high-impact practices within the public health system.
