RESPOND is collaborating with EngenderHealth's Reducing Maternal Mortality and Morbidity (R3M) Project to develop a comprehensive communications strategy for long-acting and permanent methods of contraception (LA/PMs) in Ghana. Family planning and LA/PM messages are being targeted to couples with different reproductive intentions (spacing and limiting), as well as to youth and men within various environments (e.g., communities, clinics, media outlets).
In Ghana, use of LA/PMs is low, with only 2% of married women of reproductive age using female sterilization and 1% each using the intrauterine device or hormonal implant. Contributing factors to the low use of LA/PMs include:
In addition, providers' biases and their misunderstanding of the benefits and risks of LA/PMs linger despite previous trainings and orientations. Therefore, there is a need to address client and provider barriers to acceptance of LA/PMs through a comprehensive strategy tailored to multiple target audiences (e.g., providers, community influencers, women, men, and youth at different stages of their reproductive life cycle).
International experience shows that there is a direct relationship between clear communication about the benefits of LA/PMs to health providers, clients, and community leaders and an increase in awareness, acceptance, and uptake of LA/PMs. To this end, RESPOND will use lessons learned from the ACQUIRE Project, based on experiences from a targeted communications campaign conducted in Ghana to raise awareness of no-scalpel vasectomy (NSV). That intervention was effective in improving NSV's image and stimulating men's interest in FP, thus increasing uptake of NSV. Community-based approaches to raising awareness (e.g., peer educators, community health workers, local leaders) were also effective in raising awareness and use of LA/PMs (e.g., IUD revitalization campaigns in Kenya, Guinea, and Ethiopia; LA/PMs in Uganda and Tanzania; and NSV in Honduras).