Availability and Effectiveness in the Use of Modern Contraceptive Method for Fertility Control in Iringa-Tanzania

Abstract

This study examined the availability and effectiveness in the use of modern contraceptive methods for fertility control in Kihesa ward, Iringa Municipality. The essence is that Iringa Municipal is one among areas of high fertility in Tanzania associated with high birth rates. Availability and effectiveness in the use of modern contraceptive methods is a vital aspect in limiting fertility. Lack of it translates into high fertility which creates problems of little access to opportunities such as employment and consequently culminates into poverty. The study dealt with 218 female respondents of reproductive age (18 – 49) from Kihesa and Semtema streets. Five diagnostic tools were employed in data collection including person interviews, focus group discussion, in- depth interview, documentary review and field observation. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 16.0) and Microsoft Excel 2003 were employed in analyzing data. The relationship on variables was tested using Chi- square method. Findings showed that, the overwhelming majorities (94%) of the respondents were aware of the existence of modern contraceptive method and the remaining (6%) were not. Furthermore, 74% of the respondents reported to use modern contraceptive methods and the remaining 26% were not using these methods. Basing on the availability rates, most of the respondents (98.2%) reported high and medium rates of availability of the methods while the remaining (1.8%) reported low availability rates of these methods. Though users’ acknowledged the contribution of modern contraceptive methods in lowering fertility rates, its pace is not significant. It was therefore concluded that, for attaining lower fertility rates in the study area more education is needed to the community on the importance of using permanent modern contraceptive methods rather than temporary ones. There is also a need to restructure the family planning services to involve males so as to expand the utilization of these methods by both men and women. Moreover, expansion of family planning services as well as more training of service providers could be a viable solution to improve availability rates and effective use of modern contraceptive methods in Iringa municipality.