Using mapping to strategically target areas with low access to contraception in Kinshasa, DRC

Background. Access to family planning services is a key determinant of contraceptive use. This study focused on spatial distribution of and access to family planning (FP) services in the overcrowded and haphazardly sprawling agglomeration of Kinshasa, DRC (population: 10 million). Based on data collected in 2013, the research team mapped all FP sites to immediately visualize all areas underserved by FP services.

Methods: A 2013 survey collected data from all known sites delivering FP services, using geo-referenced smartphone-based surveys (OpenDataKit); FP accessibility was then mapped using open-source GIS software (Google Earth and QGIS) to classify FP services by combining different variables and creating distance buffers. Underserved areas were then identified and site selection tools deployed to support the optimization of FP services coverage.

Results: The 2013 survey identified 398 health structures offering FP. The strategic plan for FP in the DRC calls for a minimum of 5 FP sites per health zone (HZ). Of the 35 HZ, all but 3 had at least 5 FP sites per HZ (and all had at least one high quality “Three Stars” FP site). Taking into account population density, 6 of the 35 HZ had less than 5 FP sites per 100,000 population.

Implications: The maps created from this exercise combine satellite imagery with layers displaying available FP services and accessibility buffers, to support new programmatic initiatives addressing FP coverage gaps, either by increasing the quality of existing FP sites or by developing community-based distribution activities in other low-access areas.