Abstract

PIP: As of December 1989, 79.4% of Rwanda's 350 health structures provided family planning services. Family planning services were available at 18 public and 13 private hospitals, 108 public and 60 private health centers, 46 public and 12 private dispensaries, 10 public and 10 private infirmaries, and 13 secondary family planning posts. 65.7% of the family planning services were in public facilities and 34.3% were in the private sector. Over 70% of health services in all prefectures except Gisenyi had family planning services. About 80% of private sector facilities had family planning services, but the majority provided only the so-called natural methods. The secondary family planning posts were created to increase access to family planning. The number of new acceptors of family planning has increased steadily since the national family planning program was initiated in 1981. The number of new acceptors in 1989 was estimated at 45,844, including 31,571 new acceptors of injectables, 9521 of pills, 2417 of barrier methods, 1804 of auto-observation methods, 425 IUDs, and 115 of implants. The number of new acceptors varied widely in different prefectures, with Kibuye, Cyangugu, and Kibungo having few new acceptors. Over 2/3 of new acceptors received services in public sector facilities. The total number of family planning users was estimated at 64,266 in 1989, up from 40,133 in 1988 and 755 in 1981. Some 70.1% of all acceptors use injectables and 21% use pills. The national contraceptive prevalence rate for women in union was 5.7% in 1989, which was corrected for underestimation to 6.2%.