Family planning programmes in ten developing countries: cost effectiveness by mode of service delivery

Abstract

The cost effectiveness of various modes of family planning service delivery based on the cost per couple-year of protection (CYP) is assessed using 1984 data for 63 projects in ten countries (three each in Africa and Asia, and four in Latin America). More than 4·8 million CYPs were provided through these projects during the year studied. Programmes with the highest volume of services delivered corresponded to lowest average costs: social marketing (2·8 million CYPs) and sterilization projects (960,000 CYPs) cost about 13–14 per CYP). Costs of clinics combined with community-based distribution services fell approximately midway between these two extremes.