Sierra Leone: Marie Stopes launches free contraceptive service to tackle teenage pregnancy

APA-Freetown (Sierra Leone)

Marie Stopes, the international reproductive health services provider, has rolled out a monthlong campaign designed to provide free contraceptive services to girls as part of a crusade to contain one of the world's highest prevalence of teenage pregnancy.

The campaig launched on Tuesday in Freetown also entails free screening for cervical cancer, another worryingly growing medical condition in the country.

Dubbed Rain Season Koba-Klos, this initiative is aligned with the government's health targets, especially reproductive health.

The government's 'New Direction' development blueprint notes the rise in teenage pregnancy and its implication for maternal mortality and the development outcomes of the country.

Sierra Leone has the highest rates of maternal mortality and is among the top ten countries with the highest rates of infant mortality.

Teenage pregnancy is said to be a major fueling factor of this reality, accounting for 40% of maternal deaths, for instance.

 This situation is also blamed on the fact that many girls engage in sexual activity at very early age. Government statistics show that 15% of girls have sexual intercourse before 15 years and about 28% of adolescent women age 15-19 years are already mothers or pregnant, with 44% of girls married before 18 years. About 44% of pregnancies of girls below 20, the statistics further show, are lost after 7 months of gestation or the babies die within 7 days of life.

The government's Family Planning program has the aim of reaching some 755,939 additional women with services with the goal of increasing modern Contraceptive Prevalent Rate (mCPR) from its current level of 16.6% to 33.7% by 2022.

The Marie Stopes project, which runs from June 25 to July 28, will offer services for Long Acting & Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs) specifically

“IUD (Coil)’’ and “Implant (Captain Band)”. It will also provide Cervical Cancer Screening Prevention and Treatment (CCSP&T) of pre-cancerous Lesions using the “See and Treat Approach.

“Rain Season Koba-Klos is an exceptional unique opportunity for women, girls and couples, to have the power to choose a contraceptive method of choice and screened for cervical cancer in one go," said Dr. Ufuoma Omo-Obi, Country Director; Marie Stopes Sierra Leone, in a statement.

The organization has identified nine clinic centers across the country where clients can receive services. It also announced a free toll, that to the two leading network providers, to allow people engage with Marie Stopes officials and fix appointment.