Saving Lives and Improving Health Outcomes in Senegal through Increased Access to Contraceptives
Access to voluntary family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) services is vital for safe motherhood and healthy families. Having a choice of modern contraceptives allows couples to plan and space births, ensuring families have the means to properly care for their children. USAID ensures an uninterrupted supply of quality FP commodities worldwide through the USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program- Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project.
With a population of 16.3 million2—more than double what it was in 1990—the average woman in Senegal gives birth to 4.6 children in her lifetime.3 In 2019, approximately 26.2 percent of women in Senegal had an unmet need for FP— meaning they wanted to avoid pregnancy but were not using a modern method of birth control.
The maternal mortality ratio in Senegal is 315 per 100,000 live births, compared to 534 for sub-Saharan Africa, on average.5 The child mortality rate is 45 deaths among children under 5 per 1,000 live births, compared to 76 for the sub-Saharan region.
To address Senegal’s maternal and child health needs, the Government of Senegal is collaborating with USAID and other partners. This includes increasing investment in FP/ RH to reach a projected modern contraceptive prevalence rate of 21.2 percent among all women aged 15 to 49, regardless of marital status, by 2020.
