Shortages of contraceptives at public health facilities are harming women’s health and risking unplanned pregnancies and abortions, health activists warned on Tuesday.
Contraceptives were the top drug shortage reported by patients who visited a clinic between April and June, according to new research by the Stop Stockouts Project (SPP). Among the 14,815 survey participants, 6.9% reported a stock-out, of which 40% were shortages of a contraceptive. More than three quarters (76.3%) of the reported contraceptive stock-outs were long-lasting injectables, the most popular form of contraceptive in SA.
“Women taking contraceptives have made a decision not to get pregnant. When supplies are broken we take away their agency,” said Medicines Sans Frontiers key population adviser Lucy O’Connell.
Among the facilities that answered questions about how they managed contraceptive shortages, two-thirds of the clinics said patients had not left empty-handed, and 58.3% said they had recommended switching to alternative forms of contraception.
“While this is a reasonable response from healthcare workers trying to support patients, switching contraceptives can have a detrimental impact on women’s health and lives, and is not a long-term solution to stock-outs. Women and girls should be able to access their preferred contraceptive at health facilities at all times,” said the report.
The survey data was collected by the community-led monitoring project Ritshidze, which contacted patients in all provinces except the Western Cape and Northern Cape. Reports of stock-outs were referred to the SPP hotline, which attempted to resolve the problems.
SPP said stock-outs had generally improved since 2013, when it began monitoring medicine shortages in SA. The shortages of contraceptives placed a burden on women, who faced continued problems in accessing safe abortion services, said SPP.
“Interrupted or limited access to contraceptives represents a gap between the rights enshrined by the constitution and the lived reality of many, with real and lasting impacts on women,” it said in its report.
The health department was not immediately available to comment.
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