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Access to Implant Removal: Findings from the Field

As popularity of contraceptive implants grows, broad access to high-quality, affordable removal services are becoming increasingly critical. There are a number of organizations and initiatives working to conduct research on and ensure access to quality implant removal, including the work under Jhpiego's EFPC project and FHI 360's research highlighted below.


Jhpiego's "Top Tips for Expanding Access to Quality Implant Removal"


On March 3, 2021 Jhpiego’s Expanding Family Planning Choices (EFPC) project team held a public webinar on Contraceptive Implant Removal experiences. In it, Jhpiego’s experienced panelists discussed the current state of implant removal across East and West Africa and shared their top tips for expanding access to quality implant removal. Participants heard about how they can incorporate these tips in their own settings. Watch the full recording of this discussion below.

Jhpiego’s top tips for expanding access to quality implant removal include:

  • Invest in quality insertions

  • Train providers on both standard & difficult removals

  • Prepare practicum sites and mobilize clients

  • Standardize approach to client revisits

  • Build pool of difficult removal providers

  • Establish an effective system for managing and referring difficult removal cases

  • Incorporate difficult removal into national policies and FP materials

  • Secure government support for a standardized removal kit

  • Include removal indicators into registers and HMIS

  • Document reasons for removal

  • Implement a roadmap with short- and medium-term priorities to gain larger consensus and action

FHI 360's Research Findings on Access to Removal in West Africa


To support the Direction de la Sante de la Mère et de l’Enfant (DSME) in Senegal, FHI 360 and its partners, IntraHealth, the Centre de Recherche pour le Développement Humain (CRDH), and the Association Sénégalaise pour le Bien-Etre Familial (ASBEF) conducted a mixed-method, cross-sectional study on client and provider experiences with removal of long-acting reversible contraceptives, including implants. The research focused on public and private sector services in the Dakar Centre, Kolda and Saint-Louis districts. Data were collected through surveys and in-depth interviews with clients and providers, alongside health facility questionnaires. The study also includes an innovative GIS component mapping referral networks and modeling travel time for clients to access removal services. Findings will be disseminated in a virtual workshop in late May in Dakar, after which stakeholders will determine what potential adjustments may need to be made to strengthen Senegal’s family planning program. If you would like to learn more, please reach out to Sarah Brittingham (sbrittingham@fhi360.org) or check back here, as findings will be shared after the dissemination event.


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