The Role of Family Planning in Enhancing Community Resilience: Insights from Drought-Affected Youths and Women in Ethiopia

This study assesses the role of family planning (FP) in resilience building among youths and women in Ethiopia's drought-affected and food-insecure regions. A mixed-method comparative cross-sectional study design with a total of 1712 study participants with an equal 1:1 ratio of the intervention and control groups was used. Binary logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify factors associated with community resilience. More participants in the intervention districts (58.3%) than in the control districts (49%) were currently using FP services. Approximately 54.1% of the intervention group and 43.6% of the control group were able to pay for food and shelter. Two-thirds of the intervention respondents and half of the control respondents had good social cohesion. The food consumption scores for the intervention and control districts were 26.2 and 24.9, respectively. Additionally, 62.5% of the intervention and 53.5% of the control respondents were found to have a good level of community level resilience. FP use (AOR = 3.4, 95% CI: 1.78-6.49), good social cohesion (AOR = 7.9, 95% CI: 6.09-10.23) and productive assets (AOR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.07-1.92) were significantly associated with community resilience. To enhance community resilience comprehensively, expanding FP services should empower women in decision-making processes, cultivate ties and promote collaborative efforts across different sectors.