Respecting, Protecting, and Fulfilling Informed Choice and Rights :

Journal Articles

Women’s Growing Desire to Limit Births in Sub-Saharan Africa: Meeting the Challenge
Secondary analyses of Demographic and Health Survey data from 18 countries examining the characteristics of Sub-Saharan African women who wish to limit childbearing find that young women often intend to limit their future births. This finding runs counter to the common assumption that only older women have such intentions. Large numbers of women have exceeded their desired fertility but do not use family planning, citing fear of side effects and health concerns as barriers. Moreover, many women who want no more children and who use contraception use short-acting contraceptive methods rather than the more effective long-acting or permanent methods. Analyses restricted to married women show that demand for limiting future births nearly equals that for spacing births. Global Health: Science and Practice, Volume 1, Number 1, March 2013, pages 97–107.
Available online in English

Meeting the Need for Modern Contraception: Effective Solutions to a Pressing Global Challenge
This article reviews such important topics as the benefits of family planning, trends in modern contraceptive use, the differential effectiveness of various modern methods, unmet need for modern contraception, the purpose and function of family planning programs, barriers to contraceptive access and use, and innovative and high-impact programming practices. The latter include such issues as postpartum family planning, postabortion family planning, task sharing/task shifting, and provision of mobile outreach services. The article also includes capsule summaries of family planning provision in three countries that represent "success stories" (Ethiopia, Malawi, and Rwanda), as well as of in a situation of universal access (in the United Kingdom). International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Volume 121, Supplement 1, May 2013, pages S9–S15.
Available online in English

Fragile, Threatened, and Still Urgently Needed: Family Planning Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa
Using the latest evidence about trends in modern contraceptive use, fertility, unmet need, urbanization, and poverty in eight key African countries (Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia), this commentary discusses the ongoing threats to family planning programs from such factors as HIV and AIDS, inadequacy of the health care workforce, health sector reform, and decreased funding. The article underscores the continuing validity of the health, equity, demographic, and development rationales for increased support to organized family planning programs, many of which are experiencing stagnation or falloff in performance, and also summarizes what service approaches and interventions have been found to be most efficacious in increasing access to such services. Studies in Family Planning, Volume 40, Number 2, June 2009, pages 147-154.
Available online in English

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