Expanding Family Planning Options in India: Lessons from the Dimpa Program

Twelve years since its initiation, the Dimpa program has created lasting change in the private health sector and achieved significant improvements in access, quality, demand, and use of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) in Uttar Pradesh. Most notably, the program supported the introduction of DMPA in India’s national family planning program. This brief describes approaches, lessons, and results from implementing the Dimpa program. The approaches and lessons have broad relevance to implementers that use a network or social franchising strategy, and to those who aim to promote family planning options.