630,000 unintended pregnancies and 158,000 unsafe abortions have been prevented because of the use of modern methods of contraception in Zambia, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has disclosed.
Zambia has continued to strive to ensure that Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services reach all areas of the country.
So far, a lot of progress has been made as stated in a recently released annual report of the UNFPA.
The report was published in February this year on Zambia’s 2021 collective achievements and deliverables.
It was published with the participation of the Zambian Government and other partners to improve the health and development of women and young people in Zambia.
UNFPA Representative Gift Malunga says in the report that in 2021, his organization continued to partner with the Government and stakeholders to deliver for women and young people amid the greatest humanitarian crisis witnessed globally and in the country.
The COVID-19 pandemic continued to trigger health, socio-economic and human rights challenges, including through the lens of UNFPA’s transformative results aimed at ending preventable maternal deaths, unmet needs for family planning, and Gender Based Violence (GBV) and harmful practices.
Ms Malunga explains that despite these challenges, UNFPA continued to deliver for women and young people, especially adolescent girls.
With strategy and perseverance, and through strengthened partnerships, Ms Malunga says the UNFPA invested in the continuity and expansion of integrated sexual and reproductive health services, especially in hard to reach areas.
“We scaled up interventions to prevent gender based violence among women and girls. We enhanced the procurement and distribution of reproductive health commodities, personal protective equipment for frontline healthcare workers, as well as training in infection prevention and control amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ms Malunga says.
She says UNFPA strengthened the integration of population dynamics in national development processes, including enhancing national capacity to generate and use data and evidence for policy and planning.
Ms Malunga further says with funding from Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), hundreds of mothers and newborns have access to quality emergency obstetric assistance.
UNFPA will build on the lessons of COVID-19 and work towards addressing gaps and challenges brought out by the crisis.
This includes, using innovations and best practices we have adopted and adapted, to contribute to Zambia’s development aspirations and achievement of the SDGs at national level.
Ms Malunga said UNFPA is commitment to partnering with the Government in addressing national priorities outlined in the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP) under the umbrella of the UN Sustainable Development Partnership Framework (UNSDPF) and UNFPA’s Country Programme of Cooperation with the Government.
“The focus will remain on the unfinished business of the ICPD Programme of Action (PoA), as we contribute towards Zambia’s Vision 2030 aspiration of becoming a prosperous middle-income country,” Ms Malunga said.
According to the UNFPA report, a lot of progress has been made towards a zero unmet need for family planning.
There have been 80,000 additional users of modern contraceptives who were reached by the end of 2021.
The report further explains that 630,000 unintended pregnancies were averted due to the use of modern methods of contraception.
Couple years of protection in excess of 2,840,349 were generated through UNFPA’s procurement of 60 per cent of family planning commodity needs for the public sector.
In the march towards zero preventable maternal deaths, the report said 1,000 maternal deaths were averted through emergency obstetric and new born care, family planning and continuity of SRHR services amid COVID-19.
Maternal deaths were averted through basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC), family planning and continuity of essential SRHR services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report explains that 464 health care providers in the supported provinces increased their capacity to manage the most frequent causes of maternal morbidity and mortality, as well as capacity to provide comprehensive abortion care services.
This increased access to safe abortion in supported provinces.
The report explains that 158,000 unsafe abortions were averted due to use of modern methods of contraception.
‘About 105 women with obstetric fistula underwent successful surgical repair, thus restoring their health and dignity and 69 midwives were mobilized and temporarily deployed to primary healthcare facilities in three target provinces to reduce gaps in availability of health workers and ensure continuity of essential SRHR service delivery amid the COVID-19 pandemic,’ read the report.
With financial support from the Maternal Health Trust Fund (MHTF), UNFPA procured and delivered training models for use in the skills lab, as well as textbooks and other ICT equipment for use by students at the school.
UNFPA is also providing scholarships for in-service student midwives.
Since 2018, more than 215 midwives supported by UNFPA have graduated from the school, and are currently serving in Western Province, including in hard-to-reach communities.
On the issue of zero gender based violence, the UNFPA report says 6,532 survivors of GBV accessed a standard package of health services.
In 2021, UNFPA continued to integrate gender sensitive interventions across all programmes, taking into account how gender norms and roles can obstruct or advance progress towards sexual and reproductive health outcomes.
Through the Government and the United Nations (UN) joint programme on GBV, UNFPA contributed to implement the Anti-Gender Based Violence Act Number 1 of 2011, which provides for the prevention and management of GBV.
UNFPA also continued to contribute to the protection of survivors of GBV, as well as address harmful cultural practices such as child marriage and adolescent pregnancy.
Additionally, the report says 11,851 adolescents affected and at risk of child marriage were reached through life skills mentorship programmes in target districts.
About 15,287 GBV survivors accessed an integrated package of services and 120 traditional and community leaders were engaged as champions in progressive gender transformative norms in target districts.
UNFPA also continued to integrate gender-based violence prevention and response within humanitarian responses, including in coronavirus.
About 11,851 adolescents affected and at risk of child marriage were reached through life skills programmes.
Towards zero sexual transmission of HIV, 28,199,644 male condoms were distributed together with 208,344 female condoms.
The UNFPA commends the donors who contributed or who are contributing to the overall resource base for the organisation’s eight country programme with the Government which started in 2016 and runs up to 2022.
To ensure young peoples’ potential is fulfilled, as they transition from childhood to adulthood, UNFPA works with the Government, young people, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and partners with other UN agencies to deliver comprehensive policies and programmes that protect the health, rights and well-being of young people.
UNFPA targets young people through five strategic ways which are enabling evidence-based advocacy for policy development, investment and implementation and promoting comprehensive sexuality education for in and out of school youths.
The organization builds national capacity for the delivery of adolescent friendly service delivery,
targeting marginalized adolescent girls, especially those at risk and affected by child marriage and teenage pregnancy, and promote youth leadership and participation.
The report says in 2021, 71,124 adolescents accessed a comprehensive package of sexual and reproductive health information and services in target districts and 70 per cent of public health facilities are providing an integrated, adolescent-friendly package of sexual and reproductive health information and services for adolescents.
This is an increase from 65 per cent in 2020.
The report says 110,000 learners were reached with age appropriate Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in the 148 supported schools in target districts.
From the above report, it is clear that with assistance from UNFPA and other donors and stakeholders, Zambia has made great strides in improving sexual reproductive health and rights.
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