The Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) has intensified efforts to increase the uptake of Sayana Press, a long-acting injectable contraceptive, positioning it as a key self-care option to reduce unmet need for family planning and expand women’s autonomy over their reproductive health. “It’s an injection. It’s given subcutaneously.
It’s given every three months. We can only allow one week earlier and one week later from the three months,” Godzi explained. She said Sayana Press is suitable for women of child-bearing age across a wide spectrum, including adolescents, although with safeguards.
“Women of childbearing age, of all ages, can access Sayana Press. Adolescents can use Sayana Press,” she said, adding that caution is exercised for those aged 13 to 18, while girls aged 10 to 12 are not provided with the method. Godzi said that self-care is central to ZNFPC’s rights-based and choice-based approach to family planning.
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“We want to achieve zero unmet need for family planning, because self-care will make it easier to be accessible. We want to increase autonomy for our clients. When we roll out self-care, our clients have the choice to either continue to be looked after by health workers or to go out there and self-inject,” she said, noting that as demand generation intensifies through community engagement, health education sessions and media partnerships, hopefully more women will view Sayana Press not only as an alternative contraceptive, but as a tool for autonomy, dignity and control over their own bodies.
She noted that transport costs and distance to health facilities remain major barriers for many women, making self-injection a practical solution. “Travel is a cost for most women so now a mother chooses either to self-inject or to continue to be injected by a provider,” Godzi said.
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