We used data from three rounds of DHS surveys in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda to explore level of need, use of contraception, method mix, and sources of care among women aged 15–24 years. This is the first study to comprehensively examine how the source of contraceptive services for young women in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda has changed over time given the growth in the youth population and the aforementioned constraints to contraceptive service-seeking. Our findings show that the proportion of youth with met need has increased in the sub-region, and this is a particularly notable accomplishment given the substantial population growth over time. Overall, young women appear to be shifting away from condoms and pills and instead opting for injectable contraceptives. Use of implants remains low but increasing in all four countries. In Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, the private sector has remained an important provider of contraceptive services among youth. In contrast, the contribution of the private sector has declined and most of the increase in met need in Rwanda appears to have been achieved via the expansion of government community health workers. These findings are promising; however, despite the progress that has been achieved, a substantial unmet need for contraception among young women East Africa still remains, ranging from 35% in Kenya to 59% in Uganda. Governments in these countries will need to develop more effective and targeted strategies to sufficiently increase access to high-quality contraceptive services to meet both the rising youth population and need for sexual and reproductive health services.
Pathways to increased contraceptive coverage
Our cross-country comparative study enabled us to uncover the different paths countries took towards increased contraceptive coverage among youth, and consider their accomplishments within the contexts in which they occurred.
Kenya was the only country where the increase in access to contraception among women aged 15–24 years outpaced changes in contraceptive coverage over time among women aged 25–49 years. Kenya’s progress in closing the gap in met need between younger and older women occurred in a supportive policy environment. For instance, the Government of Kenya has established multiple guidelines and policies across sectors that support the sexual and reproductive health rights for young people, including, but not limited to, the National Adolescent Reproductive Health Development Policy (2003); Guidelines for the Provision of Youth Friendly Services (2005); Gender Policy in Education (2007); National Youth Policy (2007); Ministry of Youth Affairs Strategic Plan (2007), National Reproductive Health Strategy (2009); and the National Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy (2015) [
42‐
46]. Additionally, several interventions aimed at increasing demand for and access to sexual and reproductive health services among youths have been implemented in Kenya, including youth-friendly health services, safe spaces, mass media campaigns, and entertainment and sports-centered activities [
31,
47‐
49]. While there is ample evidence of these approaches being tested in Kenya, it is unclear the extent to which these efforts represent a scalable, coordinated policy-driven response that could be adapted to other settings [
43,
47].
The increase in met need over time among young women was exceptionally large in Rwanda compared to Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Rwanda’s small population size, high population density, and low levels of need compared to these countries may have contributed to the government’s success in greatly expanding use of contraception in a short period of time [
36]. The bulk of the improvements in coverage occurred between 2005 and 2015, and this coincides with implementation of the Government of Rwanda’s 2008–2012 poverty reduction strategy, which prioritized limiting population growth not only as a health or human rights issue, but also as a critical component for increased economic development [
50,
51]. One strategy that has contributed tremendously to expanding access to contraceptives in Rwanda is the training of government-supported community health workers to offer comprehensive contraceptive counseling and provide short-term methods at the community level, including condoms, pills, and injectables [
52,
53]. Additionally, high coverage of Rwanda’s community-based health insurance program, Mutuelles de Santé, likely helped to reduce financial barriers associated with contraceptive service seeking following its scale-up in 2006 [
54,
55]. Though these strategies have been effective at increasing access to contraception overall, unmet need remains greater among younger women compared to older women. Rwanda’s first Adolescent and Reproductive Health and Rights Policy, enacted in 2012, outlines plans to decentralize sexual and reproductive health services, make them more youth-friendly, and strengthen the role of the private sector in service provision [
56]. The observed disparities between younger and older women suggest that broader social and cultural barriers may be inhibiting the implementation and scale-up of this policy in practice [
57]. It is important to better understand these barriers to contraceptive access for young women in Rwanda and consider whether engaging the private sector, which currently only covers 5% of contraceptive need among women aged 15 to 24 years, might offer an appropriate approach for expanding access.
The public sector played an important role in increasing young women’s access to contraceptive services in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, as growth in public sector coverage outpaced that in the private sector. In contrast, the increase in met need in Tanzania was driven by expanded access in the private sector. Most young women in Kenya and Rwanda now receive their contraception from a public sector source, while more than half of women aged 15–24 years in Tanzania and Uganda receive their care from the private sector. Given the challenges that many governments may face in trying to regulate their expansive and diverse private sectors, this finding raises questions about the quality of care and out-of-pocket expenditures young women experience when seeking contraceptive services [
3,
58]. Nearly half of all young contraceptive users in Tanzania received their method from a limited capacity provider such as a drug seller or retail shop in 2010, and this may be related to the high use of condoms. Another contributing factor might be the Tanzanian government’s collaboration with private sector vendors to increase access to high quality medicines, including reproductive health commodities, under the accrediting drug dispensing outlet (ADDO) program [
59]. While this type of initiative may help to increase access, particularly where access to health facilities is limited, evaluations of other programs aimed at improving the quality of care received at drug sellers in Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda have shown improvements in drug seller knowledge, but inconsistent evidence of improved practices such as counseling and provision of appropriate drugs [
60].
Previous studies conducted in Tanzania and Uganda have found that private sector facilities are more likely to have stock outs of contraceptive methods and less likely to provide a comprehensive mix of short- and long-term methods compared to public sector facilities [
35,
61‐
66]. Further, two studies on young people’s perceptions of reproductive health services in Uganda identified stock outs and inaccessibility of contraceptive commodities as key barriers to contraceptive use [
18,
26]. The fact that unmet need among young women is highest in Tanzania and Uganda (53% and 59%, respectively, on most recent surveys), where private sector market share is also highest raises questions as to whether the private sector is complementing governments’ efforts by reaching young women who otherwise may not have access to contraceptive services, or perhaps whether the private sector is serving as a replacement for government services, which are in some way less accessible to young people.
In terms of method mix, injectables are a popular choice among women aged 15–24 years in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda; however, longer-term methods such as the implant and IUD have not gained much traction with young women over the years. Due to the young age of these women, it is likely that a substantial proportion wish to delay or space their births for two or more years, but perhaps have infrequent sex, which might help explain their preference for shorter-term methods that are easier to start and stop as needed [
67,
68]. Injectables offer an appealing option for young people, as they provide shorter-term protection compared to long-acting methods, but require less frequent use compared to condoms and pills. Low uptake of implants and IUDs may also relate to other barriers such as lack of availability, costs, and fears, misconceptions, and provider biases.
Tanzania is the only one of the study countries where condoms have remained the most popular method of contraception among young women. Use of condoms as a primary form of contraception has decreased Rwanda and Uganda, reaching as low as 6% of modern contraceptive users aged 15–24 years in Rwanda. While it is favorable for young people to adopt more effective contraceptive methods, this shift away from condoms may also pose serious risks with regard to the prevention of sexually-transmitted infections (STIs). For instance, more than half of never-married sexually active adolescent women in Rwanda report not using a condom during their last sexual encounter [
5]. Given that all four countries are affected by the HIV epidemic, it is critical to ensure that as young people shift towards more effective contraceptives, they are regularly counseled about the importance of dual protection with a condom and a non-barrier method of contraception to prevent both unintended pregnancy and STIs, including HIV [
69,
70].
Limitations
Our study has some limitations resulting from the use of DHS data. First, the analysis relies on women’s self-reports on their sexual and reproductive health needs and practices. Unmet need is estimated based on self-reported sexual activity in the last 30 days, which is likely to be underreported, particularly among young, unmarried women [
71]. It is therefore likely that we underestimate unmet need for contraception and overestimate met need. Additionally, although we compare time trends in four countries across three periods, the surveys were not conducted during the same years in all countries. For instance, the T3 surveys in Tanzania and Uganda were conducted in 2010 and 2011, while the surveys in Kenya and Rwanda were conducted in 2014 and 2015, respectively. What appears to be slower progress in increasing young women’s access to contraception in Tanzania and Uganda, therefore, may be due to their earlier survey dates.
Determining source of care in terms of sector and capacity of provider is also challenging due to both self-reporting and survey response options. Faith-based providers have an undeniable presence in sub-Saharan Africa; however, the extent of their contribution to contraceptive service provision is less certain [
72‐
74]. Accurately reporting sector of care can be challenging for women, particularly in cases where faith-based and other non-governmental organizations are closely aligned with public sector service provision. We were therefore limited in our ability to accurately disaggregate the contributions of different types of private sector providers. Distinguishing provider type is also difficult due to conflation of response options on the survey [
75]. For instance, all three surveys from Tanzania had the response option “public government dispensary/pharmacy.” Dispensaries in Tanzania are equivalent to small clinics or health posts in other countries and would therefore be classified as a comprehensive contraceptive provider. Pharmacies, on the other hand, would be considered a limited capacity provider. Further, it is important to note that the theoretical capacity of a provider to offer both short- and long-acting methods does not always reflect practice.
This analysis of young women’s contraceptive need and use was also limited by data availability for younger adolescents, as the DHS only interviews women aged 15 years and above. Although a number of young women in our study countries report beginning sexual activity before the age of 15 years, very little evidence exists on contraceptive needs and use among younger adolescents aged 10–14 years [
2,
76].