WELCOME

The U.S. Agency for
International
Development (USAID),
in conjunction with its
interagency working
group The PAC
Connection, has
launched this e-
newsletter to provide a
forum for sharing and
exchanging information
on USAID-funded work
on postabortion care
(PAC).

The purpose of this
publication is to:

• Share programmatic
  experiences and
  research results
  relevant to PAC
  programs.
• Update readers on the
  USAID Global PAC
  Resource Package,
  including materials for
  PAC programs, such
  as policy documents
  and training materials.
• Exchange information
  about events in
  Washington and in
  the field.

WINTER 2013/14

IN THIS ISSUE

PAC Connection: Who We Are, What We Do
The PAC Connection, established in 2008, is the interagency working group of USAID-funded PAC programs. The PAC Connection is open to all USAID-funded organizations and USAID Missions that are currently implementing or interested in starting PAC programs. Read more.

Highlights from the Global PAC Resource Package: USAID PAC Model, Results Framework, Indicators, and Services Register
The PAC Global Resources Package is a comprehensive, standardized, scientifically accurate, and evidence-based repository of basic instruments intended for policymakers and program planners who are designing or revising their current PAC program. Due to the need for tools to track the success of PAC and family planning (FP) programs and in keeping with the PAC Connection’s goal of providing comprehensive, standardized tools for program planners, the USAID PAC model, results framework, and global and country PAC/FP indicators and the PAC register for services were revised and developed as part of the PAC Global Resources Package to assist programmers in the monitoring of PAC/FP services.

NEW RESOURCES

Updated Consensus Statement Emphasizes Joint Commitment to Including FP in PAC
Calling for a renewed commitment to the health of women following induced abortion, the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), International Council of Nurses (ICN), USAID, White Ribbon Alliance (WRA), Department for International Development (DFID), and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have issued a joint consensus statement on the importance of FP service provision to women when they are treated for postabortion complications.

The statement commits the endorsing organizations to ensure that voluntary FP counseling and services are included as an essential component of PAC in all settings, to empower and serve postabortion women of all ages to prevent unintended pregnancies and further abortions, and to provide information on optimal pregnancy spacing for those women who want a pregnancy. It lays out the rationale for offering FP to women in such circumstances and reviews the intervention approaches that can be followed.

Read the statement here.

PAC Program Assessment in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Senegal, and Togo
In 2008, USAID’s PAC Working Group, the World Health Organization (WHO) Implementing Best Practices initiative, the Centre de Formation et de Recherche en Santé de la Reproduction (CEFOREP), and others cosponsored a meeting to review research findings on PAC in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo and to develop plans for strengthening postabortion FP in their countries. In 2013, the Evidence to Action (E2A) project conducted an assessment to evaluate progress made since 2008 in four of these countries.

Barriers to Postabortion Modern Method Use in Albania and Azerbaijan
The RESPOND Project published two studies investigating factors that may motivate the use of PAC/FP services in Azerbaijan and Albania. The studies offer an idea of the challenges to PAC in areas where abortion is legal but contraceptive use remains low. Although the studies were distinct, some similar themes arose, including the issue of informal payments, despite the fact that health care is meant to be free; the need to make such payments can make FP services expensive if the method requires several follow-up appointments. Read more.

MEETINGS & CONFERENCES

Second Regional Francophone West Africa PAC Meeting: Strengthening Postabortion Family Planning in Saly, Senegal
Seventy-six participants from eight countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, and Togo) and 11 organizations were present at the five-day meeting held in Saly, Senegal, from October 7 to 11, 2013. Country team participants included staff from USAID Missions, ministries of health, and local implementing partners. The meeting had three main objectives:

1. Provide global updates and share findings of a recent assessment of country-level postabortion FP progress and challenges since 2008
2. Promote countries’ sharing of experiences, tools, and effective practices
3. Develop forward actions in the form of draft country road maps

PAC Connection Semiannual Meeting
On December 9, 2013, the PAC Connection held its semiannual meeting at the office of the Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP)/Jhpiego in Washington, DC. More than 25 participants from a variety of organizations attended to hear updates and discuss next steps for partner organizations implementing PAC/FP programs. Meeting participants shared technical updates from recent studies on PAC, the Health Policy Project’s PAC Research Compendium, USAID’s PAC priorities and strategy, the PAC Consortium’s recent activities and upcoming plans, as well as the Muskoka Project and its potential for strengthening PAC. Read the PAC Connection Semiannual Meeting Highlights here.

CALLING ALL READERS

We welcome your feedback and suggestions for articles or information you would like to see featured in this newsletter, as well as article submissions from The PAC Connection partners. We encourage you to share this newsletter with partners in the field who are implementing or may be interested in implementing PAC programs.

To subscribe or submit comments or suggestions, please contact Maureen Clyde (mclyde@engenderhealth.org) at the The PAC Connection Secretariat.