MSF: More self-managed contraception options can improve continued access
Advocates for s.e.xual and reproductive rights said that the ‘de-medicalization’ of contraception could go a long way to improving continued access.
According to the latest Stop Stockouts Report released on Tuesday, even though medicine stockouts were on the decline broadly speaking, stockouts of contraceptives represented 40% of all those still being reported.
A stockout occurs when an order of a product exceeds how much of it is readily available.
The Department of Health said that there were challenges with contraception supplies earlier this year but that it was working with the provinces to identify and implement alternative interventions to minimize stockouts and the ensuing impact on patients and isn’t aware of any current constraints.
Speaking at the launch of the report, Doctors Without Borders (MSF)’s Lucy O’Donnell on Tuesday said that more self-managed contraception options could help ensure women have more autonomy over their bodies.
O’Donnell said that the health system was under-resourced and understaffed and frontline healthcare workers were often overloaded and working without supervision or support at the ground level.
She spoke to a lack of capacity building and training on the provision of longer-lasting, reversible modern methods such as implants and intrauterine devices.
She said that moving towards more self-managed options could go a long way.
“Expanding into the de-medicalization of self-managed methods, such as the self-injectable and vaginal ring methods, would begin to ensure that women have an assured autonomy over their bodies regarding contraception,” O’Donnell said.
This would result in less pressure on clinics.
“So women increasingly need to rely less on clinics to get continuous access to contraceptives, especially when stigma and discrimination is a real barrier to accessing healthcare for people such as sex workers, people doing drugs or are too young to be on contraceptives,” O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell described the report as “alarming”, saying that it exposed “the many health system issues affecting contraceptive supplies and shortages”.
-EWN
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