South Africa has long been experiencing a stock-out of contraceptives, with Gauteng in particular being short of 29 000 long-acting contraceptive implants in the first three months of this year, coinciding with a condom shortage in five of its districts.
Gauteng MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said the supplier failed to meet the demand for the subdermal implants in the province.
In response to questions from the DA in the Gauteng legislature, she said the department had received only 2 000 Implanon devices between January and March out of orders for 31 000 units, reports News24.
“The shortage affected all health districts,” she said, adding that counselling and information were given on alternative birth control methods available.
The subdermal implants offer longer term birth control, and were introduced by the government in 2014 to offer women more choice.
In April, Nkomo-Ralehoko, again in reply to the DA, said there was a shortage of both male and female condoms in five districts, due to a lack of stock on the suppliers’ books as they awaited the approval of samples from the South African Bureau of Standards before placing bulk orders with manufacturers.
At the time, the DA said there had been a decline in the number of condoms distributed since the 2017/2018 financial year.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Condom shortage places Mpumalanga sex workers, truckers at risk
Contraception shortages are failing South African women – Stop Stockout Report
Birth control stockouts remain a problem in SA