In 1994, an experiment was launched by the Navrongo Health Research Ce
ntre that will test the demographic impact of community health and fam
ily planning services in a rural, traditional area of northern Ghana.
While exhaustive social research has been directed to clarifying socie
tal constraints to reproductive change, relatively little is known abo
ut how African cultural characteristics can be a resource to family pl
anning programs. This study will clarify ways in which cultural resour
ces of a traditional African society can be used in efforts to foster
reproductive change. This article reviews characteristics of the study
population, the design of the Navrongo experiment, and the research p
lan. The Navrongo Project will be the first African experimental trial
of the demographic impact of family planning.