In the resources linked below, Population Council researchers from the Evidence Project highlight lessons learned from research in Ghana on the expansion of access to DMPA-SC. While improper disposal in pit latrines or open spaces remains a challenge to safely scaling this highly effective method, the authors underscore that with education on safe disposal and provision of appropriate containers, self-injection clients enrolled in a pilot study in Ghana were able to appropriately store and dispose of DMPA-SC.
These results offered evidence for the Ghana Health Service to include provision of safe disposal containers in nation-wide scale-up plans for home-based self-injection, with important implications for other countries seeking to expand access while addressing safety and ecological hazards.
Institutional author(s): Population Council
Publication date: March, 2021