Dakar

Senegal / Dakar

OVERVIEW

Contraception (Birth Control)

General Note: There are many types of contraceptives, also known as "birth control," including IUDs, oral contraceptives, patches, shots, and condoms, etc. If you would like to view a full list, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Senegal, you can purchase contraception (birth control) without a prescription. 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.

Overall, Senegal has one of the lowest rates of contraceptive use in the world. It also has one of the highest birth rates (five births per woman). This can be partially attributed to social, cultural and religious factors. Senegal is a Muslim-majority country where men sometimes take multiple wives. In this environment, women are typically expected to have many children, and contraception is not highly common, especially in rural areas. Family planning decisions are usually left to men (e.g. husbands and imams) without significant input from women. Furthermore, contraception is often viewed as un-Islamic and a product of European interference in Senegalese affairs. This is compounded by the fact that most family planning programs in Senegal are funded by international donors.

However, Senegalese women are beginning to take a more active role in their health decisions. With the help of radio announcements, community health workers and friend's advice, women are increasingly seeking out contraceptives on their own. Furthermore, there is some religious support for birth spacing. While the Quran does advocate that women have many children, some Senegalese imams also point that the Quran supports birth spacing..

For more information, here is a video about efforts to introduce contraception to rural women in Senegal.

Notice: In Senegal, homosexuality is criminalized and condoms (along with text messages and other everyday things) have used as "evidence" of male homosexuality by authorities. Women have been arrested for homosexuality as well. For more details, click here.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• To see a list of contraceptives available in Senegal, click here.
• You can legally purchase birth control pills at pharmacies without a prescription. Some of the pills you can expect to see are Lo-Femenal, Microval, Ovrette and Roselle.
• If you want a contraceptive implant, you can expect to see Jadelle and Norplant.
• If you want a contraceptive shot/injectable, you can find Depo-Prodasone and Depo-Provera.

Emergency Contraception (Morning After Pill)

Important Notes: Emergency contraception may prevent pregnancy for three days (72 hours) and sometimes five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex. Take EC as soon as possible after unprotected sex. If you don't have access to dedicated EC, oral contraceptives can be used as replacement EC, but remember the following: 1) Only some contraceptives work as EC 2) Different contraceptives require different dosages and time schedules to work as EC 3) You must only use the first 21 pills in 28-day packs and 4) They may be less effective than dedicated EC. For general information on emergency contraceptives, click here and here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Senegal, you can purchase emergency contraception (the morning after pill) without a prescription.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• In Senegal, you can find progestin-only emergency contraception (the morning after pill). For these pills, you should take 1 pill within 120 hours after unprotected sex: NorLevo 1.5mg (available from a pharmacist without a prescription)
• For this progestin-only EC, you should take 2 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex: Duet (available from a pharmacist without a prescription)
• If you cannot access dedicated emergency contraception, you can use regular oral contraceptives (birth control pills) as EC. To do this, you can take progestin-only pills, like Ovrette (take 40 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex). You can also take Microlut or Microval (take 50 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex). You can also take combined progestin-estrogen pills but, for these pills, you must remember that, in 28-day packs, only the first 21 pills can be used. Of these pills, you can take Eugynon, Neogynon or Ovral (take 2 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex and take 2 more pills 12 hours later). You can also take Lo-Femenal or Microgynon-30 (take 4 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex and take 4 more pills 12 hours later). This information was found on the Princeton EC website, so refer to that website for more details.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs/STDs)

Important Notes - Learn about PEP and PrEP: If you think that you've been recently exposed to HIV (i.e. within 72 hours), seek out PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis). It's a month-long treatment to prevent HIV infection after exposure, and it may be available in your city. Take PEP as soon as possible. For more information, click here. If you are at risk of HIV exposure, seek out PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis). It's a daily oral pill that can prevent HIV infection before exposure. To learn more about PrEP, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

There are no travel or residency restrictions related to HIV status in Senegal. You can enter the country without a medical certificate and you can import antiretroviral medication for personal use. According to 2015 data, there are an estimated 46,000 people in Senegal living with HIV, and 0.5% of the adult population (ages 15-49) are living with HIV.

Regarding HPV, according to the HPV Information Centre, "Cervical cancer ranks as the 1st most frequent cancer among women in Senegal and the 1st most frequent cancer among women between 15 and 44 years of age. About 2.3% of women in the general population are estimated to harbour cervical HPV-16/18 infection at a given time, and 44.6% of invasive cervical cancers are attributed to HPVs 16 or 18."

Testing Facilities

Support

• Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Fann: Provides HIV treatment. Address: Route de Quakam, B.P. 5035, Dakar. Phone: +221 825 1930, 825 3430.
• Hôpital Le Dantec: Provides HIV Treatment. Address: Avenue Pasteur, B.P. 3001, Dakar. Phone: +221 823 8125, 822 2420.
• UNAIDS Senegal: This is an NGO focused on HIV/AIDS. Address: UNAIDS Regional Support Team for West & Central Africa. PO box 5748, Dakar. Phone: +221338690654. Email: KONED@UNAIDS.ORG.

Medications & Vaccines

What to Get & Where to Get It

• If you have a yeast infection, you can ask the pharmacist for Fluconazole.
• There is a nationwide HPV vaccination pilot program.
• There is no national PrEP program in Senegal.

Menstruation

Note: In addition to pads and tampons, you can also use menstrual cups and menstrual underwear for your period. To learn more about menstrual cups, click here. To learn more about menstrual underwear, click here.

What to Get & Where to Get It

In Senegal, you can find pads in most stores. When you're in Dakar, you can also find tampons at grocery stores and pharmacies. We can't find any evidence of sellers of menstrual cups in Senegal, so you'll probably need to find an online seller that will deliver to Senegal (if you're interested in buying one).

Gynecological Exams

What to Get & Where to Get It

• Isabelle Cabou 338226092 immeuble SORANO - Recommended by a Dakar local who says the price was around 35;000F for an appointment.

Pregnancy

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Senegal, women receive 14 weeks of maternity leave with 100% of wages covered. There is no paternity leave policy.

Abortion

Important Note: There are two main types of abortions: medical (also known as the "abortion pill") and surgical (also known as "in-clinic"). For medical abortions, you take a pill to induce abortion. For surgical abortions, a procedure is performed to induce abortion. For general information about medical and surgical abortions, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

Abortion law in Senegal is "restrictive and unclear." According to the Senegalese Criminal Code, abortion is completely illegal. However, the Code of Medical Ethics allows an abortion to be performed if at least three doctors verify that the abortion is medically necessary to save the life of a woman. The legal proceedings for an abortion are supposedly very lengthy. In 2005, Senegal ratified the Maputo Protocol, which requires states to guarantee abortion access in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest, endangerment to physical or mental health or risk to the mother's life. However, the reality for nearly all Senegalese women remains that they must obtain an underground abortion or to leave the country for an abortion.

According to a 2015 report, 31% of all pregnancies in Senegal were unintended. Furthermore, 24% of unintended pregnancies result in induced abortions with 60% resulting in unplanned births and 16% in miscarriages. In 2012, there were an estimated 51,500 induced abortions in Senegal. The highest abortion rates were found in Dakar. Many of these underground abortions are unsafe, and just over one-third of the abortion providers were trained health professionals (17% were doctors and 20% were nurses or midwives). As a result, 55% of Senegalese women who obtained abortions experienced complications, although the complication rate between non-poor urban women (35%) and poor rural women (73%) varied significantly. The overwhelming majority of complications occurred when women tried to induce abortions themselves or received abortions from untrained providers.

Furthermore, the report states, "Even where postabortion care services are available and affordable, fear of criminal charges and stigma may prevent many women from seeking the care they need. Educating providers about the legality of postabortion care—and the importance of such care to women’s health—may reduce these barriers to women’s obtaining prompt medical attention for abortion complications."

What to Get & Where to Get It

• You can potentially get the "abortion pill" by mail. Check out this link for details
• There is an underground network of abortion providers in Senegal. Due the clandestine nature of their work, we cannot recommend or list any providers. However, if you decide to take this route, we strongly urge you to only connect with people you trust and, above you, seek out abortion access with trained medical professionals and exercise caution.
• If you are considering leaving the country to obtain a legal abortion, you can legal abortions on request in Tunisia or Cape Verde. You can get abortions to preserve the woman's physical/mental health in The Gambia, Ghana, Algeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Note that laws may change so, before you choose to enter one of the countries, you should contact local hospitals and confirm if they can provide you an abortion.

List of Additional Resources

• Dakar Women's Group: "DWG is run by an all-volunteer Executive Committee which oversees social and fundraising events. The money we raise funds projects around Dakar." "The Dakar Women’s Group (DWG) is open to all women living in Dakar and speaking a minimum of English."
• Women-Dev: "Women-Dev est une team composée de quatre jeunes développeuses passionnées de nouvelles technologies."