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In Zambia, you can purchase oral contraceptives (birth control pills) over-the-counter at pharmacies in urban areas. No prescription is needed.<ref>[http://ocsotc.org/wp-content/uploads/worldmap/worldmap.html Global Oral Contraception Availability]</ref> <ref>[http://freethepill.org/where-on-earth/ Free the Pill: Where on Earth]</ref> You can also find other contraceptive methods, such as implants and intrauterine devices (IUDs), available at clinics and hospitals. For rural women, certain contraceptive methods can be accessed from Community Based Distributors (CBDs), though the trek to CBD centers may be arduous, and they may be discouraged from seeking out contraceptives from their husbands or communities.<ref>[https://www.ippf.org/blogs/overcoming-family-planning-challenges-zambia Overcoming family planning challenges in Zambia]</ref> | In Zambia, you can purchase oral contraceptives (birth control pills) over-the-counter at pharmacies in urban areas. No prescription is needed.<ref>[http://ocsotc.org/wp-content/uploads/worldmap/worldmap.html Global Oral Contraception Availability]</ref> <ref>[http://freethepill.org/where-on-earth/ Free the Pill: Where on Earth]</ref> You can also find other contraceptive methods, such as implants and intrauterine devices (IUDs), available at clinics and hospitals. For rural women, certain contraceptive methods can be accessed from Community Based Distributors (CBDs), though the trek to CBD centers may be arduous, and they may be discouraged from seeking out contraceptives from their husbands or communities.<ref>[https://www.ippf.org/blogs/overcoming-family-planning-challenges-zambia Overcoming family planning challenges in Zambia]</ref> | ||
Zambia has a high fertility rate (nearly 6 children per woman), making it the country with the eighth highest fertility rate in the world.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html CIA World Factbook7]</ref> According to a 2015 United Nations report, it was found that about 52% of Zambian women (who were of reproductive age and married/in unions) used any form of contraception, including traditional methods. This rate was notably higher than the Eastern African regional average for contraceptive use among women in 2015 (40%). The most common contraceptive methods for Zambian women were found to be contraceptive injectables (20%), birth control pills (12%), and contraceptive implants (6%). Male condoms were used by some couples (about 4%). While some couples opted for sterilization, the rates were rather low (2% for women and 0% for men). There were especially low rates of usage for IUDs (1%) and practically no users of the vaginal barrier method (0%). Traditional methods were also used at a very low rate, such as the rhythm method (less than 1%) and withdrawal (less than 1%).<ref>[http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/family/trendsContraceptiveUse2015Report.pdf Trends in Contraceptive Use Worldwide 2015]</ref> | |||
Generally speaking, Zambian women experience vastly different lives, depending on their economic and social status, whether they live in rural or urban areas, and the agency that they are granted in their families and communities. Women who are more wealthy, educated, urbanized, and independent tend to have greater access to family planning options, particularly if they live in bigger cities like Lusaka or Kitwe, and may be able afford higher quality care at private clinics and hospitals.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5363807/ Why don’t urban youth in Zambia use condoms? The influence of gender and marriage on non-use of male condoms among young adults]</ref> However, this is not the case for most women in Zambia, where 64% of people live in poverty (and, in rural areas, 80% of people live in poverty).<ref>[https://www.unicef.org/zambia/children_5157.html UNICEF Zambia - Poverty]</ref> The lack of educational, economic, and social opportunities hit women particularly hard. In 2015, it was estimated that women had a 56% literacy rate (compared to 70.9% literacy rate for men).<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html CIA World Factbook 2017]</ref> Patriarchal social structures and norms also grant many women limited agency over their property, land, sex lives, and contraceptive decisions. As a result, women may not seek out contraception because their husbands or communities do not approve.<ref>[https://www.genderindex.org/country/zambia/ Gender Index - Zambia]</ref> <ref>[https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/family-planning-the-grim-reality-in-rural-areas/ Family planning: The grim reality in rural areas]</ref> This issue is compounded by the fact that there are widespread stigmas around contraceptives. For example, surveys in 2009 showed that two-thirds of young adults in Zambia believed that condoms promoted promiscuity.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5363807/ Why don’t urban youth in Zambia use condoms? The influence of gender and marriage on non-use of male condoms among young adults]</ref> You can read an article from the Lusaka Times, which tried to dispel many of the myths surrounding condoms, [https://www.lusakatimes.com/2016/12/05/facts-about-condoms/ here]. | Generally speaking, Zambian women experience vastly different lives, depending on their economic and social status, whether they live in rural or urban areas, and the agency that they are granted in their families and communities. Women who are more wealthy, educated, urbanized, and independent tend to have greater access to family planning options, particularly if they live in bigger cities like Lusaka or Kitwe, and may be able afford higher quality care at private clinics and hospitals.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5363807/ Why don’t urban youth in Zambia use condoms? The influence of gender and marriage on non-use of male condoms among young adults]</ref> However, this is not the case for most women in Zambia, where 64% of people live in poverty (and, in rural areas, 80% of people live in poverty).<ref>[https://www.unicef.org/zambia/children_5157.html UNICEF Zambia - Poverty]</ref> The lack of educational, economic, and social opportunities hit women particularly hard. In 2015, it was estimated that women had a 56% literacy rate (compared to 70.9% literacy rate for men).<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html CIA World Factbook 2017]</ref> Patriarchal social structures and norms also grant many women limited agency over their property, land, sex lives, and contraceptive decisions. As a result, women may not seek out contraception because their husbands or communities do not approve.<ref>[https://www.genderindex.org/country/zambia/ Gender Index - Zambia]</ref> <ref>[https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/family-planning-the-grim-reality-in-rural-areas/ Family planning: The grim reality in rural areas]</ref> This issue is compounded by the fact that there are widespread stigmas around contraceptives. For example, surveys in 2009 showed that two-thirds of young adults in Zambia believed that condoms promoted promiscuity.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5363807/ Why don’t urban youth in Zambia use condoms? The influence of gender and marriage on non-use of male condoms among young adults]</ref> You can read an article from the Lusaka Times, which tried to dispel many of the myths surrounding condoms, [https://www.lusakatimes.com/2016/12/05/facts-about-condoms/ here]. | ||