In many family planning programmes operated by the public sector, resources are falling short of growth in demand for services. At the same time, individuals with unmet need for family planning services are increasingly concentrated among hard-to-reach groups. Moreover, as low-cost public services come to dominate the family planning market, they compete with and crowd out the private sector. This brief explores one potential solution "targeting" to meet these challenges, alleviating barriers to the expansion and use of family planning services. Targeting is an approach to the achievement of programme goals that direct scarce resources to those most in need. it is part of a broader package of public sector interventions that creates a business environment conducive to private sector involvement. Targeting promotes equity, stimulates increases in available resources, and improves overall efficiency in family planning services.