Background
A family planning unit was established at Sekou Toure Regional Hospital in Mwanza, Tanzania in 1998 to offer family planning services and counseling. These services, however, have been provided in isolation from the other hospital departments. The weak referral system between the departments led to lost opportunities for many clients, who may not have been informed about the importance of family planning or how to access these services at the hospital.

About the project
This project was created to increase the number of clients accessing family planning services and methods at Sekou Toure Hospital. This was done by strengthening the referral system between the family planning services and other hospital departments. After introducing the project to the heads of the departments, the project team trained the hospital staff to identify and refer clients to family planning services. The staff then arranged health sessions for the clients in the different departments, informing them about the availability and the importance of family planning services.

Results
By the end of the five-month project, 490 new clients had accessed family planning services at Sekou Toure Regional Hospital. The linkages between the hospital departments were strengthened, which led to an increased referral of clients in need of family planning services. This was a result of the training given to the hospital staff, which enabled them to identify high risk clients in their departments – for example clients who were post-abortal or HIV/AIDS positive – and refer them to the family planning services when needed.

Year: 2006