The Department of Health will today unveil its plan to revitalise family planning to prevent as many as one in every three maternal deaths by allowing women to delay motherhood, space births, avoid unintended pregnancies and abortions, and stop childbearing when they have reached their desired family size.
Journalists are invited to the event to be held at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital on Tuesday 4 October 2011 at 10h00.
In KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) access to modern contraceptive methods is relatively good, yet uptake and/or continuation remains a challenge, especially among younger women. Data on contraceptive prevalence have historically presented a positive picture with 76.8% of sexually active women aged 15 to 24 using some form of contraception in KZN in 2003, the highest prevalence in the country.
The contraceptive strategy is designed to guide the KZN Department of Health in revitalising interest in the utilisation of the contraceptive programme to increase awareness about and use of contraceptive services; to assist women to time and space their pregnancies and reduce teenage pregnancies and unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, including among HIV positive women; and to increase contraceptive prevalence and improve contraceptive service delivery.
Enquiries:
Chris Maxon
Cell: 083 447 2869
