March 12, 2018

New Data from PMA2020/Niger Show Shift Towards Using More Effective Methods

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Data from the most recent round of the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 (PMA2020) survey in Niger collected in 2017 show an increasing proportion of contraceptive users in union are using more effective methods, including injectables, implants, IUDs, and female sterilization. In 2017, 59% of modern users in union relied on a more effective contraceptive method, up from nearly 51.3% in 2016. In Niamey, 50% of modern users in union are now relying on a more effective method. More women in union are increasingly choosing the most-effective long-acting methods.

The PMA2020 survey has been able to detect the shift to more effective methods, with implants and injectables accounting for the most uptake. PMA2020 survey results show that among modern users in union implant use has increased 6% and injectable use has increased by over 5% from 2016 to 2017, largely driven by an increase in use of the new sub-cutaneous contraceptive injectable (often referred to as Sayana Press®).

Researchers at the Institut National de la Statistique (INS) in Niger held a national dissemination event on February 14, 2018 to present key results from the PMA2020 annual family planning survey. Mr. Abdou Maina and Mr. Ibrahim Maazou, Data Managers for the PMA2020 program in Niger, presented the shift to more effective methods and other key findings, highlighting trends in contraceptive use, Sayana Press uptake, and access to quality family planning services. The event was presided over by Mr. Sani Oumarou, the Acting Secretary General of INS and Co-Principal Investigator for PMA2020, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Plan, Ministry of Population, Ministry of Health, and the Promotion of Women. INS and the Ministry of Health’s family planning technical division, the Direction de la Santé de la Mère et de l’Enfant (DSME) both provided responses and interpretation of the results following an extensive question and answer session, demonstrating the Ministry’s commitment and engagement in using PMA2020 results moving forward.

 “This shift to more effective methods is largely attributable to the government’s key family planning strategies as part of their national family planning plan,” explains Oumarou, “The Government is actively promoting the improvement of women’s access to more effective method of contraception as part of its task-shifting strategy.”

PMA2020 survey results from 2017 show that 80% of public facilities offered implants, and 73% of public facilities had the supplies for implant insertion and removal. This survey found that 17% of women in union who use contraception are using implants in Niger; 26% of women in union in Niamey are using implants.

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About PMA

PMA2020 uses innovative mobile technology to support low-cost, rapid-turnaround surveys to monitor key indicators for family planning. The project is implemented by local universities and research organizations in 11 countries, deploying a cadre of female resident enumerators (REs) trained in mobile-assisted data collection.

PMA2020/Niger is led by the INS-Niger. Overall direction and support is provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health though a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

PMA2017/Niger data provide national estimates, as well as for Niamey, urban areas outside of Niamey, and rural areas. A total of 84 enumerations areas (EAs) (51 outside of and 33 within Niamey) were selected, using probability proportional to size, from a sampling frame provide by the Fourth General Census of Population and Housing, conducted by Niger’s National Statistics Institute in 2012. Structures, households, and service delivery points (SDPs) were enumerated in each selected EA. Thirty-five households were selected randomly from each EA. All eligible women, aged 15 to 49, in the sampled households were interviewed. SDP sample included three public SDPs that serve an EA and up to three private SDPs within the EA. Data collection occurred from May-September 2017. The final data set included 2,784 household (98.2% response rate), 3,020 women (97.0% response rate) and 132 SDPs (96.4% response rate), of which 121 are public.