Relationship between AIDS and family planning programmes: a rationale for developing integrated reproductive health services.

This paper examines the potential links between family planning and maternal and child health programmes and the emerging needs of the global AIDS epidemic; and assesses the feasibility of organizing comprehensive reproductive health programmes in developing countries to include the prevention and control of reproductive tract infections including sexually transmitted infections as well as HIV/AIDS. The paper discusses arguments opposing the integration of programmes against sexually transmitted infections within family planning and MCH programmes, as well as the programmatic and epidemiological reasons for considering such integration. It is important to determine what elements can be realistically integrated within programmes of varying organizational capacity without compromising their effectiveness.