This DMPA-SC Advocacy Pack brief summarizes recent evidence from African countries on the costs and cost-effectiveness of DMPA-SC. Key findings include that DMPA-SC may help reduce service delivery costs by catalyzing expansion of channels closest to women and that self-injected DMPA-SC is cost-saving as compared to clinic-administered DMPA-IM when accounting for costs to women and health systems.

This customizable DMPA-SC Advocacy Pack template provides a brief description of DMPA-SC; an overview of evidence on how the product expands access through multiple delivery channels; and policy and advocacy recommendations for country decision-makers.

The Injectables Access Collaborative Learning and Action Network, in collaboration with USAID’s Frontier Health Markets Engage project, hosted this December 7, 2023 webinar on the latest innovations, policy developments, and evidence on access to DMPA-SC and self-injection through private sector channels such as pharmacies, drug shops, and private clinics.

One-third of contraceptive users in low- and middle-income countries access their method from a private sector source. Momentum is growing to ensure that contraceptive injectables, including DMPA-SC/self-injection, are among the range of methods offered through private channels. Speakers shared the latest evidence regarding pharmacy and drug shop provision of DMPA-SC/self-injection, updates on the release of a generic product, reflections on packaging for the private sector, and tensions between equity and financial sustainability in a changing landscape for contraceptive procurement financing. Speakers and participants discussed innovations to improve private sector channel economics and advance both equity and sustainability.

This event is part of series on task-sharing, along with this webinar on expanding community access to injectable contraception.

This healthy markets framework assessment highlights market opportunities for intramuscular (IM) and subcutaneous (SC) injectables and makes several recommendations on how to sustain and expand access.

The three primary takeaways from the assessment are:

1. The lack of funding for procurement remains the main barrier to meeting global demand for injectables. This is also limiting demand across SRH products in general.
2. IM injectables still dominate the injectables market. Shipments of SC injectables have been relatively modest over the last few years, with evidence of challenges to fulfill country orders. An increase is projected in the demand for SC injectables over time with secure, diversified supply, particularly if the price premium of SC versus that of IM injectables is reduced. The arrival of a generic SC injectable could make a significant difference when it comes to pricing, however uncertainties remain as to whether SC injectables will be able to fully realize their potential.
3. Structural problems such as the lack of provider capacity and supportive policies to enable access are hindering the growth of the market for SC injectables and require special attention.

On March 21, 2023, the DMPA-SC Access Collaborative hosted this webinar highlighting the strengths and gaps of monitoring scale-up in the context of efforts to institutionalize DMPA-SC and self-injection in national family planning programs. The discussion focused on findings from Madagascar, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zambia, touching upon national goals for DMPA-SC, in-country perspectives on the value proposition of DMPA-SC, and suggested indicators for use in tracking the scale-up of a new product.

The global family planning handbook provides high-quality, up-to-date guidance for health care professionals working in low- and middle-income countries. “Chapter 4: Progestin-Only Injectables” includes information and guidance for DMPA-SC administration and self-injection.

The Training Resource Package (TRP) for Family Planning’s Progestin-Only Injectable module includes sessions V and VI which are focused on DMPA-SC and self-injection, as well as a number of related handouts and resources. Developed in partnership with the Access Collaborative, these materials are intended for training health care providers who offer progestin-only injectable contraception (“injectables”) in the public or private sector.

The TRP website features training information and materials for a wide range of family planning methods. This includes curriculum components and tools for trainers to design, implement, and evaluate family planning and reproductive health training.

An Excel skill-building workshop series

In March 2022, the DMPA-SC Access Collaborative Learning and Action Network (LAN) hosted an interactive skill-building workshop series on creating effective data visualizations to support family planning decision-making. This series was a hands-on skill-building opportunity using materials from the Access Collaborative’s Monitoring Learning and Evaluation (MLE) toolkit.

In this sequential series, each week’s session built upon the content of the previous session. For more information, please contact FPoptions@path.org.

DMPA-SC is a three-month injectable contraceptive that is easy to use and uniquely suited for self-injection. Demonstration and practice injections are a key part of training programs for both health workers and self-injection clients. Based on lessons learned in five countries, this memo summarizes PATH’s recommendations regarding devices for injection demonstration and practice, injection practice models, and waste disposal.

This webinar held on February 23, 2022 was hosted by Expanding Effective Contraceptive Options (EECO) led by WCG Cares with PSI and the DMPA-SC Access Collaborative led by PATH in partnership with JSI. The discussion focused on the introduction and scale up of self-care family planning methods in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting lessons and best practices from DMPA-SC scale-up and Caya® diaphragm pilot introductions in French-speaking West Africa. Presenters from Benin, Niger, and Senegal shared successes and challenges. This webinar was offered in French.