The survey also shows that nurses who were interviewed said they tried their best to help patients, with 58% advising people to switch birth control methods if their preferred contraceptive was not available. But researchers warned that switching contraceptives could have negative consequences on women’s health due to the effects on their hormones.
Lucy O’Connell, a nurse and adviser at the Southern Africa medical unit of Doctors without Borders said shortages of medication take away women’s right to choose not to get pregnant.
“When supplies are not there, we take away their agency. It’s often risky to change from a long-acting method to a daily method and it can be costly and time consuming to women and girls to ensure future continuous access,” O'Connell said.
Baone Twala from civic group Section27 said they called upon the government to intervene urgently. Twala said failure to address the problem means that the government is not prioritising the lives of women and girls across the country.
Researchers said they had shared the full survey with the national department of health while calling for the department to develop a plan that addresses stockouts at public healthcare facilities and to develop guidelines for managing the impact of contraceptive stockouts for facilities.
mahopoz@sowetan.co.za
Shortage of contraceptives at public healthcare facilities failing women
SA women using public facilities still struggle to access birth control. This is according to a new survey released on Tuesday, which reflects that contraceptives constitute the majority of medications that are in shortage across 403 facilities in seven provinces.
About 15,750 patients and staff were interviewed between April and June 2022 as part of the research that was compiled by Stop Stockouts Project* (SSP) in partnership with Ritshidze Project. The key findings showed while stockouts of medications at public health facilities had generally decreased, 40% of the medications that were out of stock were contraceptives.
Injectable and oral birth control were found to be commonly out of stock while 10% constituted pregnancy tests. Dr Indira Govender of the Rural Doctors Association of SA said this had a negative impact on women’s sexual reproductive rights.
“With endemic violence against women in SA, failure to meet our reproductive health needs is another stressor as women without access to contraception are forced into a position of negotiating condom use or risk an unplanned pregnancy. For some of the most vulnerable women in our country, this lack of access can be catastrophic,” Govender said.
The survey also shows that nurses who were interviewed said they tried their best to help patients, with 58% advising people to switch birth control methods if their preferred contraceptive was not available. But researchers warned that switching contraceptives could have negative consequences on women’s health due to the effects on their hormones.
Lucy O’Connell, a nurse and adviser at the Southern Africa medical unit of Doctors without Borders said shortages of medication take away women’s right to choose not to get pregnant.
“When supplies are not there, we take away their agency. It’s often risky to change from a long-acting method to a daily method and it can be costly and time consuming to women and girls to ensure future continuous access,” O'Connell said.
Baone Twala from civic group Section27 said they called upon the government to intervene urgently. Twala said failure to address the problem means that the government is not prioritising the lives of women and girls across the country.
Researchers said they had shared the full survey with the national department of health while calling for the department to develop a plan that addresses stockouts at public healthcare facilities and to develop guidelines for managing the impact of contraceptive stockouts for facilities.
mahopoz@sowetan.co.za