Family planning is considered a development "best buy" and a life-saving intervention for millions of women and girls.

Crucial to the success of family planning efforts worldwide is a well-educated and trained health workforce.

In support of the global family planning workforce, a new edition of Family Planning: A Global Handbook for Providers, commonly known as the Global Handbook, will be released on February 15 in New Delhi, India, at the 2018 Regional Consortium Meeting of the Implementing Best Practices (IBP) Initiative. 

Written in plain terms and organized for quick review, the Global Handbook has served as the world's standard reference on family planning methods and related topics since its first publication in 2006.

To date, more than 500,000 copies have been distributed in 13 languages.

This will be the third edition published jointly by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and its Knowledge for Health (K4Health) Project.

The Global Handbook is endorsed by more than 125 organizations worldwide, many of them members of the IBP Initiative.

The new edition includes information about available and new methods, including the LNG-IUD and implants, long-acting reversible methods; subcutaneous depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-SC), with the potential for self-injection; and the new progesterone-releasing vaginal ring for breastfeeding women. 

New recommendations from WHO, including guidance on topics such as intimate partner violence, task sharing, and serving clients with disabilities.

A new section on how family planning providers should respect, protect, and fulfill the human rights of their clients.

New job aids on whether to use the pregnancy checklist or a pregnancy test and on counseling women who want progestin-only injectable where HIV risk is high. 

The third edition of the Global Handbook is available in English and will soon be translated into French and Spanish.