With funding from USAID and Packard Foundation, Futures Group has developed the new RAPID/Women Model to help link women-centered programs and family planning. Packard Foundation’s support is part of an effort to support women leaders as advocates for family planning, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The model is being pilot–tested in Mali with additional applications planned in other countries.

RAPID/Women is an interactive software tool that links family planning and women-centered strategies, thereby demonstrating how investing in these types of programs can increase quality of life for women, girls, and families, as well as overall development. For instance, the model can determine how use of family planning and/or women–centered strategies affect women’s health and education, child survival, economic variables, and the UN Human Development Index.

The model can be used to create an evidence base for women’s rights advocates, government leaders, and women’s organizations to advocate for increased investments in family planning/ reproductive health and other women-centered interventions in their countries.