Strengthening postabortion family planning services in Ethiopia: Expanding contraceptive choices and improving access to long-acting reversible contraception
As a part of an extensive health system strengthening program in Ethiopia, significant efforts have been made to increase the range of contraceptive methods and contraceptive security. In the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region, Ethiopia, we evaluated our health system strengthening efforts to improve the quality of postabortion family planning (PAFP) services and expand method choice in 101 public facilities. The intervention significantly improved PAFP uptake at the project sites. Specifically, the proportion of abortion clients receiving long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) progressively improved during the intervention period. Further evidence-based interventions need to be implemented to improve the quality of PAFP in a feasible and replicable strategy that addresses unmet need for modern contraceptive methods.