Malawi women don’t embrace female condoms
The ministry of health has said Malawi women have not embracced female condoms and prefer other family [lanning methods a development that has put lives of women at risk of contracting HIV virus and getting unplanned pregnancies.
Charles Chimenya, logistics Pharmacist in the ministry of Health told journalists in Lilongwe on Wednesday, that during the 2011 and 2012 government discovered that huge quantities of female condoms expired in the health facilities due to low demand by females.
“We have noted that in 2011 and 2012 there were huge quantities of female condoms expiring because there is low uptake among women in the health facilities. Apart from female condoms there is also low uptake of emergency pills and oral contraceptives in the health facilities.” he said.
In a separate interview Population Reference Bureau country representative Sandra Mapemba said there is a need to look at the procurement systems so that FP commodities are procured according to demand by clients.
However, Mapemba said that low uptake of female condoms could be attributed to lack of information among women on the advantages of using the condoms.
“I think there is lack of knowledge among women on the goodness of using the condom, women need to be empowered to increase uptake,“ added Mapemba.
Having a female condom option increases the rate of protected sex, she said.
Women have complained that female condom is laborious as well noisy during sexual intercourse. unwieldy and like a plastic bag.
The condoms are another tool to empower and protect women from sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy, health advocates say
According to statics Malawi’s fertility rate is at 5.7 children per woman which is fuelling the country’s population growth. Surveys show, however, that women want smaller families, on average four children. They don’t always have the means to plan or space their pregnancies.
But demand for family planning is increasing and Malawi is under pressure to establish as well as maintain efficient system for delivering reproductive health supplies.
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