Senegal: Difference between revisions

In Senegal, you can purchase some forms of contraception, such as pills and condoms, without a prescription at pharmacies. You'll find a variety of contraceptive options available in the country. However, the overall rate of contraceptive usage remains low for Senegalese women. You can obtain emergency contraception (the morning after pill) without a prescription at pharmacies as well. You can receive STI tests at clinics in the city. There is a nationwide HPV vaccination pilot programs but there are no nationwide PrEP programs yet. Regarding menstrual products, you should be able to find pads and, in larger cities like Dakar, you can find tampons. Menstrual cups seem very difficult to find, so they should be purchased online. In Senegal, women receive 14 weeks of maternity leave with 100% of wages covered. Regarding abortion, the law has been described as "restrictive and unclear." While there may be some (debatably) legal reasons for abortion, these laws are very unclear and require lengthy paperwork. As a result, Senegalese women almost always resort to the underground abortion networks for obtain abortions. However, many of these providers are unsafe and untrained, so one should exercise extreme caution if considering this route.

In Senegal, you can purchase birth control pills without a prescription.<ref>[http://ocsotc.org/wp-content/uploads/worldmap/worldmap.html Back to OCsOTC SiteGlobal Oral Contraception Availability]</ref> According to a 2015 report, 18.1% of women in Senegal (who are married/in unions and of reproductive age) use any form of contraception, including traditional methods. The most common forms of contraception were injectables (6.5%), the pill (5.3%) and implants (2.8%). Traditional methods, like withdrawal (0.1%) and the rhythm method (0.4%) weren't very common. The report also found that 30% of Senegalese women had unmet family planning needs.<ref>[http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/family/trendsContraceptiveUse2015Report.pdf Trends in Contraceptive Use Worldwide 2015]</ref>