WASHINGTON – On April 27, members of the Global Health Policy Center at CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies) gathered to discuss the recent advancements of family planning programs in Senegal. Senegalese Minister of Health and Social Action, Dr. Awa Marie Coll Seck, was featured as the keynote speaker for the event.
Dr. Coll Seck began the conversation by describing the population imbalance in Senegal. “Senegal is experiencing a rising population growth, with a majority of youths under 20 years old. Studies have shown that almost 60 percent of the population is under 25 years old. All of these people are facing limited access to employment and social services. We need to do something,” said Dr. Coll Seck.
The struggle to expand women’s access to contraception has met many challenges, particularly in push back from religious leaders. Islam is the region’s predominant religion, and it is estimated that over 92 percent of Senegal’s population is Muslim.
Another obstacle is the expensive cost of distributing and administering these contraceptives. Leaders in women’s health hope to implement a revolutionary, injectable contraception called Sayana Press in the near future. “Sayana Press is small, light, easy to use, and requires minimal training, making it especially suitable for community-based distribution—and potentially for women to administer themselves through self-injection,” according to PATH.
Sayana Press costs the equivalent of $1 U.S., allowing Senegal’s poor to access needed drugs. However, this cost needs to be reduced even further, as many must feed their entire families on less than $2 U.S. each day. Increased funding from the U.S. government could make this goal achievable.
Despite these difficulties, a strong partnership among the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and others has created a stable donor fund for the Senegalese family planning initiative. This fund has allowed for significant advancements in contraception.
In 2012, there was a contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) of only 12 percent of women, and in 2014, CSIS recorded that figure increasing to 20 percent. CSIS’s National Health Development Plan aims to reduce maternal mortality by two-thirds and to reduce child mortality under 5 years by three-fourths before 2018. An annual progress report will indicate whether or not the family planning initiative is currently on track to reach its 27 percent goal, but these early figures are clear markers of success.
On May 21, the Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health honored Senegal’s government (along with the Philippines and Uruguay) with the 2015 Resolve Award, an award which “recognizes countries that have made groundbreaking progress towards the goal of universal reproductive health.”
The award was given to Senegal for its Informed Push Model (IPM), a targeted method used to aid the transportation and quantification of contraceptive drugs. Through IPM, a private logistician stocks local health facilities at no cost to the community and restocks on a monthly basis with help from government funding.
The Aspen Institutes credits Senegal’s IPM with “virtually [eliminating]inventory stock-outs of contraceptives, thus ensuring that all women have access to a consistent, reliable supply of family planning products.”
Leaders in women’s health and family planning like Dr. Coll Seck have inspired Senegalese women to take charge of their own family planning and demand contraceptives. Dr. Coll Seck stated, “Giving women the means to plan their family leads to better health, empowerment, and opportunity for women and their children. And that in turn leads to more prosperous communities and greater economic productivity. It all starts with family planning.”
– Hanna Darroll
Sources: THe Aspen Institute, CSIS, Family Planing 2020, PATH
Photo: USAID