UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the National Drug Service Organization (NDSO) recently undertook a last mile assurance process to spot check on Family Planning Commodities supplied by UNFPA, distributed through the National Drug Service Organization (NDSO) throughout the country.
Since the last mile assurance process follows the commodities from their procurement and arrival at Lesotho’s borders or airport, to the NDSO, handover to implementing partners all the way to the service delivery points where women and girls have access to them, the exercise covered the NDSO and health facilities in different districts.
At Mapoteng hospital, women who had gathered to access family planning services expressed gratitude at the opportunity to access the services and the availability of the contraceptives. Most of them said their method of choice was the Depo-Provera which is given as an injection every three months.
One of the women ‘Makhethisa Sebajoa (19) said she does not know much about long term methods of family planning but she is grateful to be able to access the three months’ depo provera. “I have come here today because my partner is coming from South Africa very soon. Without the contraceptives we would most likely have an unplanned child, but I want to be pregnant when I want, not by mistake.”
Tankiso Phiri (21) said she already had an early and unintended pregnancy therefore she does not want to have another unplanned pregnancy. “I probably would have been pregnant again had it not been for the contraceptives. Some of my peers have had more than one unintended pregnancy. I recently advised one of them to use contraceptives. I think if she had not heeded my advice she would now be having three children, unmarried.”
‘Matlhohonolofatso Khoaele (18) who has one daughter said she was advised by a friend to use contraceptives. Her view is that, “it is important for me to be able to focus on one child before I have another one. If contraceptives were not available I would probably be having another child already, not unplanned.”
UNFPA has been responsible for ensuring the availability of lifesaving sexual and reproductive health and HIV prevention commodities to the hardest to reach areas in Lesotho. The UNFPA Office in Lesotho together with the Ministry of Health therefore applies a last mile assurance process to inspect the supplies, procured by UNFPA and distributed by the National Drug Service Organization (NDSO).
Meanwhile, one of the of the highlights of the 7th Country Program of assistance between UNFPA and the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho which ends in 2023 has been procurement of Sexual and Reproductive Health Commodities.
