A Forecasting Guide For New and Underused Methods of Family Planning: What to Do When There Is No Trend Data?

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Abstract

This guide provides direction to programs that want to forecast for new and underused methods (NUMs) of family planning. It supports program managers and others involved in forecasting as they plan to (1) introduce a contraceptive technology for the first time in a country, and/or (2) position an underused method for scale up. The guide recognizes that accurate forecasts take into account the larger system into which the NUM will be introduced and scaled, and it offers a framework for building rational assumptions to support accurate forecasting for NUMs or any family planning method where future demand is inherently difficult to predict. It also identifies common pitfalls in NUMs forecasting and recommends strategies to avoid them.