1. Introduction to this curriculum
Family Health International (FHI) and ChildFund Zambia (CFZ) developed this draft curriculum as part of a pilot introduction of community-based delivery of injectable contraceptives in Zambia. This is an ever-evolving document that we will continue to revise based on results of ongoing field tests and update with the latest guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Resources used in its development include the 2005 Zambia Ministry of Health (MoH) training curriculum for community-based distribution agents (CBDs)* and the 2009 draft community-based distribution (CBD) of DMPA module from the Family Planning Training Resource Package (FPTRP), in development by a consortium of organizations coordinated by FHI.
FHI and CFZ used this draft curriculum to train 10 national Zambia MoH trainers in November 2009; they then trained a cohort of agents (CBDs) to safely counsel, screen for and administer Depo-Provera. The CBD agents trained for this pilot project were already providing family planning services in their communities and had previously received the full national Zambia MoH CBD training. Thus, this curriculum includes a refresher on the full range of family planning methods and key concepts like counseling and recordkeeping, while focusing mainly on topics related to the safe provision of injectable contraceptives.
This curriculum includes two tools: (1) a Counseling Flipbook and (2) a brochure for new DMPA clients. The Counseling Flipbook is the main tool used by CBD agents to counsel their clients. Both of these tools were translated into local Zambian languages for use at the community level.
We welcome you to use or adapt this curriculum for your own purposes, but if you do, please let us know so we can learn from your experiences. Please contact us at
© Copyright Family Health International, November 2009
* Please note that for use in Zambia, the Depo-Provera reinjection window originally cited in the curriculum was 12 weeks in order to comply with Zambia national guidelines. In preparation for sharing the curriculum with a wider audience, FHI changed this to 13 weeks to match WHO guidelines on Depo provision.