Strengthening access to reproductive health commodities: hera’s evaluation of the Best Practices Grant
From 2020 to 2025, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), with funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), led a programme entitled “Establishing Best Practices for Government-Led Product Introductions” (referred to as the Best Practices Grant)—an ambitious £40 million initiative aimed at improving access to Reproductive Health (RH) commodities across several low- and middle-income countries.
hera was contracted by CHAI to conduct the final external evaluation of the BPG, with a mandate to capture lessons, assess results, and generate insights to inform both the FCDO’s final Programme Completion Review and future investments in RH market shaping.
About the Best Practice Grant
Launched in 2020, the Best Practices Grant (BPG) was designed to address some of the most persistent barriers to RH commodity availability and uptake. Its objectives were multifaceted:
Introducing and scaling up priority RH products, such as hormonal IUDs and quality-assured medical abortion (MA) combi-packs
Providing technical assistance to governments to support planning, coordination, and product introduction
Engaging in market shaping activities to ensure sustainable supply and demand
Documenting and sharing lessons learned with the broader RH community
Evaluation approach
hera’s evaluation team adopted a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative analysis with qualitative fieldwork. We conducted in-depth country assessments in Kenya, Rwanda, and Zambia, complemented by a lighter-touch review in Malawi.
Our evaluation focused on five key OECD-DAC criteria: effectiveness, coherence, impact, efficiency, and sustainability.
hera also explored synergies between BPG and other RH initiatives, particularly the UNFPA Supplies programme, to identify opportunities for improved coordination and future collaboration.
Key findings
The evaluation found that the BPG was overall effective in achieving its objectives, contributing to increased availability and uptake of RH commodities in target countries. The programme’s design aligned well with national policies and government-led priorities for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Notably, government-led processes for RH product introduction were strengthened in several countries, laying important groundwork for future sustainability.
Discussions with CHAI and in-country stakeholders also highlighted the broader human rights dimension of the BPG’s work, particularly the right to contraception and reproductive choice.
The final evaluation provided actionable recommendations to improve sustainability, country ownership, and market stewardship in future RH programmes.