Social Franchising

Most poor people in developing countries get healthcare from private rather than public service providers. For SRH, the strongest evidence for market interventions showed that franchising can expand private sector access to family planning services for the poor; social marketing of FP messages and products can improve access for everyone and raise awareness and knowledge; private sector community-based workers can be trained to administer injectable contraceptives with a high quality of care. Social marketing is as or more cost-effective than other channels for getting contraceptives to those who want them, for increasing demand, and especially in reaching out to adolescents. Social franchising aims at ensuring access (increase the number of providers and services offered); and cost effective and provision of services in line with quality standards equitable. It thus seems imperative to harness the potential of private sector health providers who are willing to upgrade their knowledge and skills in order to add family planning to the services they offer and in this way, contribute to increased contraceptive use by making high-quality family planning services and commodities available and accessable throughout urban and peri-urban Pakistan.