Giving Compass' Take:

• PSI reports on A360’s youth-powered approach to determine what it takes to enact effective, resonant and ultimately lasting adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health behavior change for girls in Mozambique.

• How can donors support international reproductive health programs? What are other countries in Africa doing for sexual education awareness? 

• Here's an article about philanthropy's role in reproductive healthcare. 

Erdinha Chambal, a nurse in the Mozambican district of Mandjacaze, knows what women in her community want when it comes to contraception.  For her, the most popular methods she provides have always been short-term options.

“Most of women that came into the health facility leave with a pica (a local word for a contraceptive injection) or oral contraception,” explains Erdinha. “They are afraid that the implant will disappear into their bodies or make them infertile.”

In Mozambique, research from the Ministry of Health has shown that despite the availability of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), like implants and IUDs, only 6.46% of women who use contraception choose a long-acting method. Many providers don’t know how to counsel their clients about long-term methods or how to provide them. Their clients don’t ask for them, either, resulting in very little demand for LARCs.

Informed choice—when a client can choose the best contraceptive for her needs based on a thorough understanding of the methods available to her—is an important part of avoiding unintended pregnancy.  A girl’s informed decision depends on a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health session with a skilled and motivated health provider, who must feel comfortable in explaining and administering all available methods.

In response to this lack of informed choice, PSI Mozambique has been implementing activities in the districts of Chibuto and Mandjacaze that complement the youth-focused interventions being implemented by the UK Aid-funded Vale-a-Pena project. These activities provide on-the-job training to health providers on the fully array of available contraceptive options, which in turn creates demand for voluntary contraceptive services and improved delivery of these services. So far, PSI Mozambique has completed a total of 27 three-day outreach campaigns for health providers.

Read the full article about reproductive health in Mozambique by Fuva Muiambo at PSI.