Reproductive Access
Through a mapping of Sexual & Reproductive Health (SRH) services in the region in 2018, WHISE found that women lacked information and access to contraception.
A rise in pregnancy testing was found by a number of organisations providing this service.
It was also found that the most ‘popular’ form of contraception from organisations providing this service was condoms.
Out of those organisations that provide contraception, 82.5% provided condoms in contrast to other forms of contraception.
This statistic may explain the rise in pregnancy testing sought, particularly when rates for Implanon insertion remained low.
Service Provision
WHISE has identified issues of unmet service provision. It was found that 59% of organisations who responded to the 2018 Service Mapping research stated that they were unable to appropriately provide SRH services for specific unmet needs. Some of their concerns included:
- Their inability to provide culturally appropriate SRH information
- A lack of female GPs or women’s health clinics
- Long waiting lists for IUD insertion
- A lack of easily accessible youth friendly sexual health practitioners
These practitioners and service providers further outlined various reasons for their inability to adequately respond to specific needs in their service provision. These included:
- Inadequate or no funding for certain aspects of SRH
- Inability to adequately refer clients to more specialised services
- Lack of consistently available health practitioners