The DMPA-SC Access Collaborative has produced the brief and program design guide linked below to support countries and partners that are planning and rolling out DMPA-SC self-injection as part of an expanded range of contraceptive methods delivered through informed choice programming.

The Recommendations for Contraceptive Self-Injection brief summarizes the latest key findings, insights and recommendations the AC has accumulated through six years of technical assistance to ministries and partners engaged in self-injection program introduction and scale-up. These practices should be universally considered and implemented to increase family planning program success.

The Contraceptive Self-Injection Program Design Guide is a comprehensive tool that outlines optimal program models for DMPA-SC self-injection. It was originally developed in 2020 based on the self-injection program rollout in Uganda, the first country in sub-saharan Africa to offer contraceptive self-injection outside of a research setting. The guide was updated in 2022 to reflect subsequent learnings, evidence, and data from scale-up efforts. The program design guide:

• Walks users through each step of a self-injection program, including all components related to health workers and clients.
• Highlights essential evidence on self-injection program design.
• Establishes areas where more research is needed.
• Draws attention to key moments for program design decision-making.
• Links users to additional resources and tools for program development.

Please contact FPoptions@path.org for further information or requests for assistance.

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.

The Reproductive Health Supplies Visualizer (RH Viz) is a series of public-facing dashboards designed to help the RH community see integrated and aggregated supply chain inventory, order, and shipment data.

The Global Family Planning Visibility and Analytics Network (VAN) captures data from multiple sources to improve supply chain visibility. The VAN offers a platform to assess supply needs, prioritize them, and act when supply imbalances loom.

These journey maps were designed to help program planners think through the key components of their DMPA-SC self-injection programs. For more information, consult Recommendations for contraceptive self-injection: brief and program design guide.

This overview includes background and resources on sharps disposal methods, country practices and evidence on disposal from DMPA-SC self-injection studies and projects, and waste management options and considerations for contraceptive self-injection programs. The resource is designed for in-country stakeholders and decision-makers developing DMPA-SC self-injection plans and programs.

Produced by Injectables Access Collaborative partners, inSupply Health and JSI, this report outlines the findings of a comprehensive assessment of Zambia’s family planning supply chain conducted to identify challenges and opportunities for improving the availability of contraceptives, with a spotlight on DMPA-SC. The report provides comprehensive recommendations to address challenges and improve the supply chain’s efficiency and effectiveness.

This study aimed to evaluate DMPA-SC (Sayana Press) management and administration in low-resource settings, focusing on how the delivery logistics, administration time, storage and waste-management requirements compare to the traditional intramuscular DMPA injectable (DMPA-IM).

Cover J, Blanton E, Ndiaye D, Walugembe F, Lamontagne DS. Operational assessments of Sayana® Press provision in Senegal and Uganda. Contraception. 2014 May;89(5):374-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2014.01.005. Epub 2014 Jan 18. PMID: 24565737.

This four-page brief describes results from three analyses conducted by PATH and John Snow Inc. (JSI) comparing the intramuscular version of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) injectable contraceptive compared with the new DMPA-SC formulation packaged in the Uniject injection system. The analyses focused on waste management implications and identified key quantitative and qualitative differences between the two products.