Paraguay Program Profile

The SHOPS project used the total market approach to prepare the main stakeholders of the Paraguayan family planning market for graduation from USAID funding. SHOPS strengthened the skills of CEPEP (the Paraguayan affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation), the Paraguayan Social Security Institute, and the Paraguayan Contraceptive Security Committee, with the goal of sustaining the country’s services and contraceptive security. The two-year program (October 2010 to July 2012) included active involvement of both the private and the public sectors. This profile presents the goals, components, results, and the following lessons learned from the SHOPS program in Paraguay:

• In the face of declining donor funds, NGOs must reexamine their roles in the marketplace and, in some cases, realign their business models.
• The Paraguayan Social Security Institute is an important part of the family planning market in Paraguay. However, it is critical to recapture beneficiaries who seek family planning services elsewhere.
• Contraceptive security committees can manage public sector commodity supply, stimulate public-private dialogue, and ensure a whole market approach.