First Pacific nation to introduce new female contraceptive

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the first nation in the Pacific to introduce the new injectable female contraceptive Sayana Press after training local PNG nurses by nurse educators from Family Planning Australia. Sayana Press is a relatively new contraceptive which is a self-administered injection that reduces the need for regular clinic visits.

Family Planning Australia International Programme Director Anne Stuart said this contraceptive had proven very effective in remote communities as twelve months' worth of the contraceptive can be stored at home and self-administered every three months.

In November 2023, Family Planning Australia partnered with the United Nations Population Fund PNG (UNFPA PNG) and the PNG National Department of Health (PNG NDOH) to pilot training to thirteen contraceptive providers in seven of Papua New Guinea's provinces. Customised educational resources were used to support the training.

Now, 6,600 units of Sayana Press have been delivered to the pilot PNG health facilities to be used in the program.

Family Planning Australia will present the work this week at the 15th Bi-annual Pacific Society for Reproductive Health Conference in Auckland March 20 to 22 2024, outlining not only the cultural appropriateness of a contraceptive like Sayana Press but also the importance of working with local nurses to equip the community to continue delivering access to contraception locally.

"We know that only 37 per cent of married women in Papua New Guinea use a modern method of contraception and one quarter, 26 per cent, of married women have an unmet need for contraception, meaning they do not currently want to get pregnant but are not using any form of contraception," Ms Stuart said.

"Also, more than 85 per cent of the PNG population live in remote areas. This self-administered contraceptive helps increase access to contraception, especially for women living in remote parts of Papua New Guinea where we know there are lower rates of contraception than urban cities like Port Moresby," Ms Stuart said.

"When we work with communities to improve access to contraceptives locally, we can make meaningful long-term changes and of course access to contraceptives will empower women to make choices about their family planning and reduce rates of unplanned pregnancies.

"We also know contraceptives like this, through their discreet nature, can allow women in abusive or controlling situations to take increased and independent charge of their reproductive and sexual health."

From 2014 to 2016, UNFPA successfully tested this contraceptive in Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal and Uganda, in partnership with PATH, a not-for-profit organisation.

Around 500,000 doses of the contraceptive were distributed to 135,000 first-time users of any contraceptives and 44 per cent of the contraceptives supplied were administered to adolescent girls and women aged less than 25 years old. Outcomes of the test include reduced access barriers to women's contraception and increased access to contraceptives in priority populations.

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