Twenty of the 25 African countries that USAID supports have contraceptive prevalence rates (CPRs) of less than 20 percent–with most under 10 percent. Despite the specter of HIV/AIDS, the population will surpass 1 billion in 25 years. Moreover, three megatrends will define the region's future development: 1) growing urban populations; 2) growing youthful populations; and 3) continuing disparities among socioeconomic groups.

The Africa's Health in 2010 project provides technical assistance to African institutions, networks and partners for the reproductive health (RH) portfolio; and serves as a catalyst for change in a number of reproductive health focus areas. They include:

• Organizing identification of lessons and useful models (for example, for integrating family planning (FP) into HIV/AIDS and maternal health services and optimal birth spacing advocacy)
  
• Convening experts to examine how FP tools and practices are best introduced in countries with varying HIV and contraceptive prevalence settings
  
• Building a network of African FP policy champions, including parliamentarians, NGOs, and journalists
  
• Expanding South-to-South sharing of best practices through experiential learning
  
• Working with WHO/AFRO, DFID, World Bank, and other donors to identify shared priorities and joint initiatives and to monitor progress toward achieving mutual goals, such as contraceptive security

The project seeks to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of family planning and related RH programs in Africa. In collaboration with USAID's Bureau for Africa, cooperating agencies and African institutions, networks and professional associations, the project focuses on a combination of activities including issues identification and analysis, the scale up and transfer of promising approaches into new settings, capacity building, and advocacy to increase support for expanded RH programs.

Africa's Health in 2010 concentrates on the following priority areas:

• Identifying and compiling program approaches that are particularly suited and effective in countries with different levels of HIV and contraceptive prevalence rates. Program approaches will focus on integrated programming of family planning with HIV and maternal and child health according to the contraceptive and HIV prevalence rates of the country.
  
• Working with WHO/AFRO to promote advocacy for repositioning family planning in programs and services.
  
• Strengthening RH advocacy by helping regional network members translate advocacy initiatives into country-level impact and nurturing new FP partnerships and "champions" in the region.