Faith Leaders Improve Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy: Results of Operations Research on the Channels of Hope Methodology in Kenya and Ghana.

Background: Family planning averts unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal deaths, while improving child health and socio-economic progress, but an estimated 218 million women and girls in low- and middle-income countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, have an unmet need for modern family planning. Faith leaders can impact the demand and uptake of family planning. However, there is limited understanding of the mechanisms for effective family planning advocacy by faith leaders.