Harare, 22nd February 2012: For many people who live in rural parts of Zimbabwe, family planning services are simply too far away for them to access. But thanks to new USAID funding, we are overcoming this barrier and taking our family planning services where they are needed most in remote, under-served communities.
With this new funding we are increasing access to contraception for women living in hard to reach communities like the Nyaodza Island fishing camp on Lake Kariba.
Before our outreach teams reached Nyaodza Island, women had to travel by boat to a hospital on the mainland where there was a limited choice of short term methods like the hormonal pill and condoms.
One of our new clients explains: ‘I am now able to choose from a range of contraceptives and have a better understanding of family planning methods to support my decisions on whether and when to have children.’
The impact of our new outreach services is already being felt by women and couples who are able to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health, for the first time.
In 2010, there were 59,101 women using modern contraception as a result of our services. And this year, with ongoing support from USAID, we will give even more women, couples and young people living in under-served communities - like the one on Nyaodza Island - real family planning choices.
The funding has been provided through USAID’s Strengthening Health Outcomes in the Private Sector (SHOPS) and Support for Family Planning Organizations (SIFPO) projects. These projects aim to reach hard to reach and under-served communities with a full range of family planning methods, with a focus on long acting and permanent methods (LAPM).
Find out more about our work in Zimbabwe