Implementing the integration of component services for reproductive health

In the wake of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Developm ent in Cairo, considerable activity has occurred both in national policymak ing for reproductive health and in research on the implementation of the Ca iro Program of Action. This report considers how effectively a key componen t of the Cairo agenda-integration of the management of sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus, with maternal and chil d health-family planning services-has been implemented. Quantitative and qu alitative data are used to illuminate the difficulties faced by implementer s of reproductive health programs in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia . In these countries, clear evidence is found of a critical need to reexami ne the continuing focus on family planning services and the nature of the p rocesses by which managers implement reproductive health policies. Implicat ions of findings for policy and program direction are discussed.