**5. Injectable contraceptives**

When oral contraceptives were introduced in family planning programmes, they were hailed as a major breakthrough. However, overtime, it became obvious that not many women are good in remembering to take their pills on a daily basis and follow the schedule of administration. The use of injectable contraceptives provides many advantages: no user error, privacy and less dependence on the women's compliance. The most commonly used is depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA). Irregular spotting, bleeding and amenorrhoea are well-known problems associated with the use of DMPA.

**7. Condoms**

and prevention programmes [72, 73].

have at least a child to the new husband.

regions.

**9. Knowledge, attitude and practice of family planning**

**8. Permanent methods: Female sterilization**

Condoms are the most widely known and used as barrier device by male partners around the world. Condoms are easy, effective and safe method of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV. Although rates of condom use have been low in many areas of sub-Saharan Africa, many people now use condoms because of HIV education

Family Planning Services in Africa: The Successes and Challenges

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72224

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Globally, millions of couples of childbearing age in developing countries used voluntary surgical contraceptive (VSC), making it a popular method of family planning in the world [74]. But data for sub-Saharan African countries are scarce; however, based on world fertility survey results for Kenya, Lesotho and Sudan, female and male sterilization appears to be rare [75]. In another report, the use of vasectomy was under 1% [52]. This method of family planning is not too popular in SSA for a number of reasons. The method requires skilled personnel that are not available at the primary healthcare (PHC) level used by majority, and services are only available in urban areas. On the conservative side, in situations where the marriage has failed or death of partner occurred, the woman by cultural and religious norm is encouraged to remarry, and in order to "secure" her marriage, position and respect in the family and the society, she will be desirous to

The dividends accrued from improvements in reproductive health are cumulative and key to achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) by improving maternal health, reducing child mortality and eradicating extreme poverty. Family planning brings transformational benefits to the women, families, communities and nations [16]. In the twenty-first century, the maternal mortality in the continent is still unacceptably high. The lifetime risk of maternal mortality of women in SSA is 1 in 39 live births, the highest when compared to other

Despite recent increases in contraceptive use, sub-Saharan Africa is still characterized by high levels of fertility with TFR of 5 (number of births per woman) and a considerable unmet need for contraception [76]. Sub-Saharan Africa is still undergoing demographic transition (i.e. a shift to low death rate and birth rates). This is largely due to high birth rates with low contraceptive use. It is estimated that 90% of abortion-related and 20% of pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality together with 32% maternal deaths could be prevented by the use of effective contraceptive [9, 77]. In SSA, about 14 million
