PRB

(July 2014) Fulfilling family planning needs for couples across the globe continues to be a challenge for family planning providers and couples alike. These country fact sheets—”Reproductive Transitions: Unmet Need for Family Planning”—present the current situation of unmet need, along with the most recent general reproductive health data, in each of five sub-Saharan African countries:

* Benin

* Kenya

* Malawi

* Senegal

* Uganda

Designed for use by local family planning stakeholders and advocates, each fact sheet explores the reasons why women who say they want to postpone their next birth, or not have any more children, are not using contraception, and the policy and program implications of the evidence. The authors give special attention to the importance of ensuring that women and men have access to a full range of contraceptive methods to better satisfy reproductive needs at different life stages—from adolescents and young women and men, to middle-aged and older couples. Recognizing these reproductive transitions is an important step toward satisfying the family planning needs of a nation. Ultimately, this goal calls for renewed efforts to tailor family planning services to better meet life’s changing circumstances.