Options Consultancy Services was established in 1992 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the international social business, Marie Stopes International. Our initial work centred around providing technical expertise, programme design monitoring and evaluation support to the UK government as the Resource Centre in Population and Reproductive Health.

Whilst improving access to reproductive and maternal health services remains a core area of our work, we have grown to encompass expertise across the health sector in order to build effective and equitable health systems.

Since 1992, Options has worked in more than 50 countries, and has been responsible for launching a number of high profile programmes, including the UK government’s flagship end FGM programme, The Girl Generation, and the E4A-MamaYe programme which uses data to improve decision-making for the health of women and girls. We lead and manage numerous health sector programmes on behalf of international donors, in particular UKAid, KfW, The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Structure
Our programmes operate through offices in our countries of operation. We also have regional hubs in Kenya, Nepal and Nigeria. Our head office is in central London.

In 2015 we set up a non-profit subsidiary, Options for International Health, to pursue new avenues for our work to transform the health of women and children.

Options UK was launched in 2006, conducting high quality public health research, insight and analysis for health and social care organisations across the UK.

Governance
Options is a private limited company, wholly owned by Marie Stopes International (MSI). Our surpluses are given as Gift Aid to MSI and make a significant contribution to MSI’s mission of children by choice, not chance.

Options' Board of Directors sets the objectives and strategic direction of the company. John Sayers is chair of the Board. Other Board members are Anne Austen, Megan Elliott, Jo Elms, Phillip Harvey and Simon Cooke.
Women’s Integrated Sexual Health Programme
Globally there are an estimated 214 million women who want to delay or prevent pregnancy but who are not able to access or use contraception. Unintended and early pregnancy is a key cause of high maternal death rates in Africa and many parts of Asia. Having access to contraception is critical for women continuing their education and being able to take up employment opportunities.

The Women’s Integrated Sexual Health Programme (WISH), funded by UKAid, prioritises the poorest and most in need, particularly young and marginalised women, increasing the number of ways and places they can access the vital family planning services they need, and helping to avert tens of thousands of maternal deaths.

This will empower millions of women with control over their bodies and support the future prosperity of young people in some of the world’s poorest countries by allowing them to plan when to have children, to stay in education, and to get better jobs, so they can contribute to their country’s economic development.

The programme aims to expand sexual and reproductive health care services and support countries which have made FP2020 commitments to achieve them. It is working across 26 countries in Africa and Asia.

The programme focuses on:

Strengthening individuals’ knowledge and choice, and building community support for sexual reproductive health rights
Driving sustainability and national ownership of sexual reproductive health programmes through supportive legal, financial and policy frameworks
Improving access to and expanding choice of voluntary family planning and other sexual reproductive health services through evidence-based innovations and best practice. https://options.co.uk/country/bangladesh; https://options.co.uk/work; https://options.co.uk/news

https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?target=default&ContribAuthorStored=Sultana,%20Nadira&SeriesKey=18793479

Abstract
Objective
To explore the strategies undertaken to decentralize menstrual regulation services and implement task‐sharing, including barriers and facilitators, with nonphysician providers in Bangladesh.

Methods
We conducted a desk review of relevant policies and health service information from grey and published literature on task‐sharing in menstrual regulation services, plus stakeholder interviews with 19 representatives of relevant health organizations to investigate facilitators for and barriers to the implementation of task‐sharing of these services.

Results
Task‐sharing in menstrual regulation began in 1979 as part of the national family planning program. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has guidelines for menstrual regulation services provided by a wide range of healthcare workers using manual vacuum aspiration and the medications misoprostol and mifepristone. Despite government approval, implementation of task‐sharing is challenging owing to lack of skilled providers, lack of facility readiness, and unmet need for family planning.

Conclusion
The government needs to implement effective planning for skills building of nonphysician providers and ensuring facility readiness for provision of menstrual regulation services to reduce unsafe abortion in Bangladesh.