Electronic Forum on the CBD of Injectables

Family Health Research: 2007, Vol. 1, Issue 2

More than 330 participants from 19 countries registered to participate in an online forum about providing injectable contraceptives through community-based distribution (CBD) programs.

Hosted by Family Health International (FHI) and Management Sciences for Health (MSH) via the Global Exchange Network (GEN) during the week of May 21-25, 2007, the forum engaged program managers, policy-makers, health care providers, and other health professionals in a discussion about the potential of CBD programs to expand access to injectable methods.

Forum participants posed thought-provoking questions and commented on experiences with CBD programs in countries such as Afghanistan, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Nambia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

The popularity of injectable contraceptives was a consistent theme. "Women in rural areas are crying out for injectable contraceptives," wrote Evissa Wakene, a forum participant from Ethiopia.

Most participants agreed that the CBD of injectables is a positive innovation, provided CBD programs address training requirements, safety measures, community participation, and cultural factors. Many participants wrote of the need for sensitization and education to overcome resistance and dispel myths and misconceptions about the CBD of injectables.

Participants said that auto-disabling syringes and the new subcutaneous formulation of depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (called depo-subQ provera 104 or DMPA-SC) would be welcome technological innovations likely to increase interest in adding injectable methods to CBD programs. Many noted that even if these new technologies become available, proper sensitization, training, client follow-up, and consistent supplies of contraceptive would still be essential.

The need to create strong links between CBD workers and clinical services was another important theme. Almost all the participants said that CBD of injectables programs should be linked to government health facilities, as they are in a number of countries, to help ensure quality and promote sustainability.

At the end of the forum, the majority of participants said that it had been useful, providing them with new knowledge that they could apply in their own work. Several participants asked that such forums be held regularly to address a variety of reproductive health topics. Most participants also said that they found the background materials provided for the forum very useful.