Overcoming Family Planning Challenges in Africa: Toward Meeting Unmet Need and Scaling Up Service Delivery.

Expanding access to family planning and addressing unmet needs for contraception are key goals for improving reproductive health. Poor access to family planning is associated with unintended pregnancies and poorer maternal and newborn outcomes, including abortion-related morbidity and mortality 1 . Addressing unmet need helps increase contraceptive use and reduces unintended pregnancies, leading to improved health outcomes and broad social and economic benefits for women, their families and societies. Unmet need reflects gaps in both demand and supply of contraceptive services. The challenges posed are greater in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) 2 . Progress to reduce unmet need remains slow and more effective ways are required to expand family planning care on a larger scale.

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