Introduction of Community-Based Provision of Subcutaneous Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (DMPA-SC) in Benin: Programmatic Results

ABSTRACT The Republic of Benin faces high maternal, newborn, and child mortality; low modern contraceptive use; and a critical shortage of health workers. In 2013, the Government of Benin made 3 reproductive health commitments to improve national health indicators, including expanding provision of family planning services at the community level through task sharing. Since 2016, the Advancing Partners brand name Sayana Press) through facility-based health care providers and community health workers known as relais communautaires (RCs). DMPA-SC is an easy-to-administer, discreet injectable contraceptive that provides 3 months of protection from pregnancy. Beginning in May 2017, the government introduced DMPA-SC through a phased approach in 10 health zones, which encompassed 149 health centers and 614 villages. Between June 2017 and June 2018, the MOH and APC trained 278 facility-based providers and 917 RCs to provide DMPA-SC, and nearly 11,000 doses were subsequently administered to 7,997 women at facilities and in communities. This article presents findings from an assessment of community-level and health facility service data collected during the first 13 months of DMPA-SC introduction in Benin. Because of this intervention, nearly 35,000 women received family planning counseling and 7,997 women chose DMPA-SC. At the community level, 3,111 DMPA-SC users were first-time users of modern contraception. The initial success of the DMPA-SC rollout in Benin shows promise for helping the country meet its reproductive health commitments.