Subsidizing contraceptives

Description

Subsidizing contraceptives involves providing financial support to reduce or eliminate the cost of birth control methods, making them more accessible to individuals and communities. This strategy aims to address barriers such as affordability and availability, thereby reducing unintended pregnancies, improving reproductive health, and supporting family planning initiatives. By lowering economic obstacles, it enables wider contraceptive use, particularly among low-income populations, contributing to better health outcomes and population management.

Context

Adolescents are very sensitive to the price of contraceptives as well as their easy availability. In Dakar, Senegal, the price of a condom is the same as the cost of an evening's dancing.

Implementation

A town in Sweden halved its teenage abortion rate by subsidizing the price of contraceptive pills for young women: shortage of money had made many girls postpone the renewal of their prescriptions. The subsidy reduced the cost by two-thirds, resulting in a much higher renewal rate. The scheme has been copied by 70% of Swedish municipalities.