After a facility makeover of the Diagnostic Center Rasool Park, Lahore.

In Pakistan, family planning services are typically available through basic health units, satellite camps, mobile services, family welfare centers, private providers, and dispensaries. Since June 2022, The Challenge Initiative (TCI) has been providing technical support to local governments across several districts in Pakistan to strengthen the existing health system by scaling up quality family planning services.

One of the key districts where TCI has focused its efforts is Lahore. High-impact family planning practices and interventions such as capacity building, advocacy, and facility makeovers have been prioritized to address the gaps identified during assessments of local dispensaries.

Facility Makeovers

Before TCI’s intervention, many dispensaries faced significant challenges that hindered the uptake of family planning services, especially long-acting and permanent methods like intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUCDs) and sterilizations. The absence of dedicated labor rooms and OB-GYN service areas, combined with poor facility conditions, inadequate waste management, and dysfunctional rooms, limited service offerings. The lack of private procedure rooms and proper sterilization equipment further impacted service delivery and client privacy. Dispensaries, from waiting areas to consultation and staff rooms, were often unwelcoming and ill-equipped.

Additionally, women in these communities faced significant barriers to accessing family planning services, often needing to travel long distances. This travel posed time and financial burdens that discouraged them from seeking services. Community health workers could provide family planning commodities but were unable to offer long-term methods like implants and IUCDs.

In partnership with the Department of Health and in consultation with the Department of Integrated Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child Health (IRMNCH), TCI recommended facility makeovers for eligible dispensaries. This vision has now materialized, leading to visible impacts for both staff and clients.

Communities now benefit from a comprehensive range of contraceptive options, including permanent, short-acting, and long-acting methods. Urban health dispensaries also host regular integrated outreach events and have extended their service hours to provide 24/7 family planning support.

These facility upgrades have also transformed staff attitudes and mindsets, boosting their confidence and motivation to offer services. The improvements created an environment conducive to high-quality family planning services by making waiting areas more welcoming, ensuring privacy for counseling sessions, and enhancing infection prevention practices.

Recent data indicates a gradual increase in the number of services provided and clients served compared to previous years. The chart belows shows an increase in family planning clients after two dispensaries underwent facility makeovers. 

Both outpatient department (OPD) and family planning (FP) clients increased after facility makeovers in the Garhi Shahu and Dhair Shahdra dispensaries in Lahore.