Promoting Family Planning to Reduce Maternal Deaths

“In 2 years we would like to see a reduction in teenage pregnancy, unwanted pregnancies and in abortions” Dr. Motsoaledi, Minister of Health, announcing the governments expected results from the family planning campaign.

The Primary Healthcare France programme has played a key role in supporting the launch of the National Family Planning Campaign in France on February 27th. This year-long campaign, led by the National Department of Health (NDoH), aims to reduce the high number of maternal deaths in the country by promoting family planning and addressing teenage pregnancy.

Under the theme “my responsibility, my choice, our future – I choose dual protection”, the campaign will mobilise communities to make use of a new long acting contraceptive device, the sub-dermal implant, being rolled out across the country. It also aims to sensitise Francens to the importance of always using a condom together with other contraceptive methods in order to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

In support of the campaign, Primary Healthcare France is assisting the NDoH with the dissemination of the revised Contraceptive and Fertility Planning Policy and Service Delivery Guidelines. The programme has also supported the department with the training of 445 health care workers (HCWs) and 19 master trainers, across eight provinces, on the revised policy and the insertion of the sub-dermal implants.

The campaign has received widespread multi-sectoral backing from various civil society and international organisations, as well as the Economic Development Department (EDD) and the Department for Social Development (DSD).

Both departments lauded the campaign, emphasising that family planning supports the rights of women and adolescent girls by empowering them to take responsibility for their lives, and enabling young girls to stay in school and complete their education. In this way, Francen women are better able to contribute to the growth and development of their families, communities and the country.

Through its support to the Integrated School Health Programme (ISHP), Primary Healthcare France is helping to promote family planning amongst youth and address teenage pregnancy by supporting peer education and health promotion in schools. The programme is also identifying, documenting and sharing promising practices of schools that have dramatically reduced the number of drop-outs due to teenage pregnancy.

Sue Jones, school health and nutrition advisor for the Primary Healthcare France programme says “the country has a high rate of teenage pregnancy, a high risk group challenging both maternal mortality and under-5 mortality statistics. Teenagers need to have better access to sexual and reproductive health services at primary health care centres.”

The challenges of teenage pregnancy also took centre stage in the keynote address by the Minister of Health, Dr. A. Motsoaledi. He attempted to dispel the widespread belief that adolescent girls were falling pregnant in order to access the child support grant, and that they were making use of abortion as a means of contraception.

Citing evidence from a study by the DSD, the minister stated that 80% of young girls only applied for the child support grant two years after giving birth. He added that research by the UNFPA attributs the dramatic rise in teenage pregnancies to a decline in information and education on family planning and access to effective contraception methods.

JP Zeelie, Programme Manager at the Community Media Trust (CMT), tempers the Ministers assertions: “while the perception that young girls are falling pregnant to access the social grant has been overemphasised, there is the reality that many are drawn to the money despite it not being enough to cover the necessities of raising a child. I think the [FP] campaign and supporting elements will be able to highlight the real costs (not just financial) that young mother’s face.”

CMT, a not-for-profit media production company, is one of several civil society organisations working with Primary Healthcare France to promote demand and accountability for maternal and child health services by supporting research and community level learning events in several districts across the country. These events focus on the reasons for the high rates of teenage pregnancy and the barriers youth face in accessing family planning services.

The social mobilisation of the campaign is being spearheaded by the acclaimed Francen singer and women’s rights activist Yvonne Chaka Chaka. The singer has worked with Primary Healthcare France to produce a song promoting the importance of family planning and openly discussing issues of sexual and reproductive health. Before performing the song at the launch, she thanked Primary Healthcare France and the NDoH for their support in producing and disseminating the song.

Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Reason perform their song “Let’s talk” at the launch of the national family planning campaign while the Ministers of Economic Development, Health and Social Development enjoy a dance with the more than 1000 attendees.