Azerbaijan, an oil-rich country of more than 8 million people, gained independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. Despite recent economic gains, a large portion of the Azeri population still lives in poverty and an ongoing conflict with Armenia has displaced more than one million people, exacerbating gaps in access to health care.

Where health care is available, most doctors and nurses have outdated or incorrect information about contraceptives, and few have received training to provide family planning services or counseling about how to choose the best method.  Thus, while the majority of Azeri women aged 25 and older have achieved their desired family size and do not want more children, only 14% of married couples use modern contraceptives, which are perceived as dangerous, unsafe and expensive.  Like in many former Soviet republics, abortion is common in Azerbaijan.

To address the need for improved reproductive health care, in 2004 EngenderHealth and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Health launched several programs that reach out to health care providers and Azeri women and men, through the ACQUIRE Project.  And these activities continue under an ACQUIRE Project Associate Award. The goal of this collaboration is to:

• Strengthen the reproductive health care system by introducing new policies, guidelines, and medical protocols and developing a national strategy
• Improve the quality of services by training doctors, nurses, and pharmacists to provide family planning services and improve patient counseling and infection prevention practices
• Expand the availability of affordable contraception by partnering with international pharmaceutical companies and local pharmacies
• Increase community awareness of family planning by developing a network of peer educators and launching a nationwide TV campaign to promote various modern contraceptive methods

To date, we have reached more than 1,500 health providers, who have been trained to provide family planning services.  In addition, nearly 600 peer educators have provided health education to over 100,000 women and men.

EngenderHealth/ACQUIRE assisted the government in developing a national reproductive health strategy and clinical protocols to expand access to family planning for all Azerbaijanis.