ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the rapid expansion of projects in Zaïre that provided contraception to populations in urban and several rural areas, almost all funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Two were small-scale operations research projects (PRODEF and the Kananga Project), which demonstrated that providing family planning from a trusted source, even in rural areas, could increase modern contraceptive use. In addition, three large-scale projects served to introduce modern contraception in locations that spanned the country. Starting in 1982, the Basic Rural Health Project (SANRU) began supporting primary healthcare services, including family planning, and strengthened the management of selected rural health zones countrywide. Almost simultaneously, USAID worked with the Zairian government to establish the Family Planning Services Project (PSND), designed to increase access to contraception in 14 urban areas. When Kinshasa emerged as the epicenter for HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, USAID/Zaïre funded Population Services International (PSI) to test, then expand the Zaïre Social Marketing Project, which became a model for AIDS prevention in other African countries. This set of activities put Zaïre on the map as one of the most progressive countries for family planning/condom distribution in francophone sub-Saharan Africa.
