Tagged: injectable contraceptives

  • February 19, 2013

    The votes are in for injectable contraceptives

    Written by
    Laneta Dorflinger
    Kate Rademacher
    Vera Halpern

    Women in sub-Saharan Africa are voting with their feet. Or in the case of injectable contraceptives, they are voting with their arms.

    Injectable contraceptives — which are typically administered in the upper arm and provide protection from pregnancy for 1-3 months depending on the formulation — are the most commonly used family planning method in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than one-third of contraceptive users choosing this method, according to a United Nations report. Worldwide, over 40 million women use injectable contraceptives, mainly depot medroxyprogesterone acetate — commonly known as Depo-Provera or DMPA.

    Nineteen year old Masani* from Tanzania chose injectables because she wanted an effective method that was convenient and didn’t require daily action. When offered oral contraceptives at the clinic, she declined. “I will fail because I will forget,” she explained. Some women say that they appreciate injectable contraceptives because they do not require a more invasive medical procedure. For Masani, the familiarity of DMPA was appealing. “That one I can understand,” she said.

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  • January 31, 2013

    Family Planning, Injectable Contraceptives and the Community Health Worker

    Written by
    Liz Osborn, Media Relations Specialist, FHI 360

    Family planning can have remarkable effects on women, children and families. When women are able to decide how many children to have and when, they are more able to meet their own educational, health and economic goals. Planning the number and timing of pregnancies also allows women to plan their finances and invest in the children they have. Unfortunately, not every woman has access to the contraception necessary to decide when to have children and how many to have. Perhaps the answer lies in an expanded role for community-based health workers.

    Many governments and nongovernmental organizations have turned to community-based family planning programs to expand access to contraceptives.These distribution programs have been credited with advancing family planning endeavors in otherwise underserved areas in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Despite the progress made there is room for improvement. One challenge community health workers encounter is the fact that, while national policies in many countries permit community health workers to provide condoms and oral contraceptives, they are not allowed to administer injectable contraceptives. This is particularly problematic in sub-Saharan Africa, where injectable contraceptives are a preferred method of contraception for women.

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