of the pandemic mean that some family
planning providers are waiting for shipments of
emergency contraceptives and other items as
stocks run short at home.
“Today I expected a shipment from Asia, but it’s
suspended,” Shibru said. “I don’t know how to
fill that gap. It was supposed to come today to
serve us for the coming six months. So this is
one of the tragedies. ... We’re expecting a huge
shortage of contraceptives in African countries.
Absolutely, condoms also.”
In Uganda, Marie Stopes country director Carole
Sekimpi said they don’t know when a shipment
of emergency contraceptives will arrive because
India, their source, has also locked down.
They’ve been out of stock for a month and need
oral contraceptive pills as well, she said.
“Yesterday when I heard (neighboring) Kenya
talking about a lockdown in Nairobi and (the port
of ) Mombasa I thought, ‘My god, what’s going
to happen to all of our shipments?’” she said.
“Overall, there’s definitely going to be a problem.”
She worried about the girls and women
confined in homes with potential assailants,
even uncles or cousins. Her organization has
suspended outreach, which provides about 40%
of services, and clinics that remain open have
seen a drop in client traffic of about 20%.
“We don’t see you anymore,” anxious callers say.
“What’s happening?”
Even the capital, Kampala, has been affected.
Sekimpi said she visited a large government-run
hospital there on Monday, “but when I got there
my heart was broken because the one service
suspended was family planning. With good
reason, because it’s usually crowded.”Image: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi