Reaching every district - development and testing of a health micro-planning strategy for reaching difficult to reach populations in Mongolia

Main success factors in the development of the planning methodology were the use of barrier analysis and mapping approaches for data analysis and problem solving at the local level, and re-orientation of management approaches from 'inspection' to supportive supervision. Additionally, although the RED strategy is intended to be an immunization-specific intervention internationally, evidence from the development and trial of the process in Mongolia indicates its potential for wider health systems applications. This is particularly so for detecting and responding to the maternal and child health service needs of the more difficult to reach sub-populations.