U.S. Government Helps Implement National Family Planning Campaign (August 25, 2009)

Lusaka. August 25, 2009.

Lusaka – The Ministry of Health, with the help of the U.S. Government, today launched a national mass media campaign to raise awareness about the health and economic benefits of family planning.

With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Health Communication Partnership provided technical assistance in the development and production of the campaign, which consists of television and radio spots in English and seven Zambian languages.

According to the 2007 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey, Zambia’s fertility rate remains one of the highest in the world. During the course of her lifetime, a Zambian woman will bear an average of 6.2 children, immensely straining her body as well as the family’s resources to secure the health and well-being of her children. More than 75 percent of Zambian women either want to delay having another child or stop childbearing altogether. Yet only a third of currently married women in Zambia use any modern contraception method. The national campaign aims to reduce this unmet need for family planning through TV, radio, and print messages that provide accurate information for Zambians to take responsible actions for their sexual and reproductive health.

Speaking at the launch, U.S. Ambassador to Zambia, Donald Booth, emphasized the importance of family planning, “Zambians must think of planning for families as planning for Zambia’s future. Just as governments need to plan their policies and programs, couples need to plan too. They need to plan for their children, to invest in each of them to the fullest extent possible, and to prepare them to be healthy, educated, and productive citizens.”

Booth underscored that the Ministry of Health has led the development of the national family planning campaign.

As the U.S. government continues to support Zambia’s national family planning program, its investment will integrate the delivery of services to meet family planning and reproductive health needs and to strengthen the national health system. Increasing demand for and access to family planning services will contribute to the sustainable development of Zambia.

The TV and radio spots will begin airing on the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation and community radio stations in September 2009.


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