Assessing Contraceptive Security in Six African Countries: Does Supply Determine Use?

Wenjuan Wang, ICF Macro
Astou Coly, Futures Institute
Shanxiao Wang, ICF Macro

This study measures the level of contraceptive security and evaluates the role of contraceptive supply in determining contraceptive use by linking data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Service Provision Assessment (SPA) surveys. We focus on three elements of contraceptive security: supply, access, and use. Countries included are Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Descriptive analyses are conducted to examine the contraceptive security in each country. Supply is assessed using SPA data. Access and use of contraceptives are assessed using DHS data. Multilevel modeling examines the association between contraceptive use at the individual level and contraceptive supply in the region. We expect that women who reside in a region with a higher level of contraceptive supply are more likely to use contraceptives than those in regions with a lower level of supply. This study could inform family planning programs in addressing supply-based unmet need.