Morocco, 1st country to Expand Contraceptive Access to Women, WHO

Morocco became the 1st country to adopt the World Health Organization’s pilot project on women’s self-administered injectable contraceptives, according to a release by the organization.
The project’s global guideline, which was published two months ago, is meant to reduce unintended pregnancies by giving women “greater autonomy and providing 12 weeks of contraceptive coverage.”
71% of married women in Morocco use some kind of birth control, and 61% use a contemporary technique, usually the pill, said the release.
This contraceptive costs around 27 dollars per unit. Talks with the Health Ministry are under way to see if such expenditures might be incorporated into future health budgets or whether this innovative technique could be incorporated into Morocco’s fundamental benefit package for universal health care.
The pilot project was part of efforts to implement the World Health Organization’s guideline on self-care interventions for health and well-being, which involved partnership between the WHO, an NGO called OPALS, the Ministry of Health and UNFPA.