Enhancing Stock Out Information with a Couple Years Protection Lost Measure – a Useful Tool for Family Planning Programs

Programs aiming to increase the contraceptive prevalence rate, as with the Nigeria Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI), must address contraceptive supply stock outs in order to ensure that the supply is available to meet the increase in demand. To indicate whether a stock out has occurred or not is absent vital information for prioritizing program activities. We created a summary measure that includes important information about the potential effect of a stock out - the couple years protection lost (CYPL) measure. The CYPL combines information on client flow, stock outs and the published couple year protection for each method – and then is summed and presented as an aggregate measure at the facility level. With the CYPL measure programs can target those family planning facilities with the most damaging stock outs first, to strategically reduce the negative impact of stock outs in an informed order of priority.