Research backs investment in modern contraceptives
New research findings have revealed that Malawi could be generating an annual net saving of up to K4 billion if government fully invests in women’s need for modern contraceptives.
The research findings, released early this month by an American-based Guttmacher Institute and the University of Malawi’s Centre for Social Research (CSR), indicate that by investing in family planning, Malawi would also significantly improve the health and well-being of women and their families.
The new analysis also shows that if women’s need for modern contraception was fully met, the benefits would be substantial.
Titled ‘Benefits of Meeting the Contraceptive Needs of Malawian Women,’ the report also documents the considerable financial and health benefits the country would accrue from expanding access to family planning services.
Briefing members of Journalists for Health Network in Blantyre last Friday, Pakachere Institute for Health and Development Communication (PHDI) executive director Simon Sikwese said although increasing family planning services would require increased expenditure, the costs would be more than compensated by the resulting savings.
“Fully meeting women’s needs for modern contraception would save about K4 billion annually which could go towards other needs with the country’s already strained public health system,” said Sikwese, whose organisation is responsible for disseminating the report.
He also said if government was to meet about half of the women’s needs, K2 billion in net savings could be realised.
The report also says despite substantial progress, use of modern family planning in the country remains low, resulting in a high level of unintended pregnancy that, in turn, leads to a broad range of negative consequences for women, their families and the overall healthcare system.
Reads the report in part: “Over the past decade, Malawi has made impressive progress in expanding access to modern contraception. Yet, despite more widespread use of family planning in Malawi than in many other sub-Saharan African countries, more than four in 10 Malawian women who want to avoid pregnancy are still not using a modern method of contraception.”
According to the findings, 54 percent of all pregnancies in Malawi are unplanned, and women end up having more children than desired.
If government invested in family planning, unplanned births and unsafe abortions would also be reduced by 87 percent with less than 426 000 unintended pregnancies being recorded annually.
Maternal deaths would also drop by 43 percent with less than 1 500 women dying from pregnancy and childbirth per year and “there would be 68 000 fewer abortions annually”.
“High levels of unintended pregnancy are fuelling the country’s alarmingly high levels of maternal death and illness,” said Maxton Tsoka of CSR and co-author of the study.
In the 2014/15 national budget, government has allocated about K50 million towards family planning with the bigger chunk going towards contraceptive services.
