Survey: 41% of unmarried women use family planning methods

The survey that was launched on Tuesday by vice president Dr. Isatou Touray, seeks to provide data for monitoring the population and health situation in The Gambia. It is the second Demographic and Health Survey conducted in The Gambia, following a similar exercise conducted in 2013.

“Among sexually active, unmarried women aged 15-49, 41% use a modern method of family planning. The most popular methods among sexually active, unmarried women are implants (20%), injectables (11%), the male condom, and the pill (5% each).”

Meanwhile, 1 in 5 married women aged 15-49 use any method of family planning; 17% use a modern method and 2% use a traditional method.

The most popular methods, according to the survey, are injectables (8%), implants (6%) and the pill (2%).

The survey also revealed that the use of modern methods of family planning among married women varies by residence, wealth, and Local Government Area.

“Modern method use is slightly higher among urban women (18%) than rural women (15%). In general, modern family planning use increases with wealth. 16% of women from the poorest households use a modern method, compared with 21% of women in the fourth wealth quintile.

The survey highlighted that modern method use by LGA ranged from a low of 8% in Basse to a high of 22% in Banjul.

According to the survey, the use of family planning increased from 9% in 2013 to 19% in 2019/20.

“Additionally, modern method use among married women increased from 8% in 2013 to 17% in 2019/20.” the survey stated.