Balaka district family planning coordinator, Fanny Mawaya, says because of interventions from stakeholders like Maikhanda Trust, contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) has improved from 43 percent in 2020 to current 48 percent.

“We are promoting long-term contraceptives such as Implanon and Jadere as compared to short-term ones like Depo-SC and Depo-Provera to stop women from frequenting the hospital because of the pandemic, having noticed that some were shunning their visits amidst Covid 19 pandemic," said Mawaya.

Maikhanda Trust Executive Director, Eric Tsetekani, says many pregnant women are not accessing family planning methods because of the fear for the pandemic.

Tsetekani said: “Many people including pregnant women are not accessing hospital services because of myths among them, that they will be injected with Covid-19 deliberately at the hospital, which has led to reduction in maternal and neonatal health services uptake.

“With funding from J&J Foundation, we are promoting safe motherhood and Covid-19 messages to encourage pregnant women attend antenatal despite Covid-19."

He said Maikhanda will now be providing Covid-19 protective wear like masks to the communities apart from messages to help the ultra-poor.