For Immediate Release:	December 4, 2000
For More Information:	Christina Horzepa, The Population Council, chorzepa@popcouncil.org, (212) 339-0520
Sponsor Organization:	Population Council
RESEARCHERS LEARN HOW TO INCREASE USE OF EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION IN REFUGEE SETTINGS TO PREVENT PREGNANCIES AND IMPROVE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES
Violence against women, including rape, is a major reproductive health concern in the Kakuma refugee camps in Kenya, but few women living there know that emergency contraception is available in a camp hospital and not all health care providers there offer it. Results of a study designed to test ways to enhance the use of emergency contraception in refugee camp settings will be described this week at a conference on the reproductive health of refugees. Over 79,000 refugees live in the Kakuma camps, 71 percent from Sudan and 24 percent from Somalia. Forty percent are women, and 14 percent are children under the age of five. About 150 babies are born in the camp each month. Antenatal and family planning services are provided in three satellite International Rescue Committee clinics. Thirty-four percent of the refugee women and 27 percent of the men reported that women are forced to have sex in the camp. Twelve percent of the women interviewed said they had been beaten during the previous month by a spouse or partner. A Population Council study, based on interviews and focus groups with female refugees, health providers, adolescents, and community elders, concluded that broader dissemination of accurate information about emergency contraception and its wider availability at a range of health facilities would help to greatly reduce the post-rape pregnancy rate. Emergency contraception requires taking a higher dose of regular birth control pills within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse to prevent pregnancy. Because emergency contraception has no effect on an established pregnancy, it is not considered an abortifacient. Fariyal F. Fikree, a reproductive epidemiologist, and her colleagues found that nearly 56 percent of the women were unaware that a potential pregnancy could be prevented following unprotected sex. Only 15 percent of women said they had heard of emergency contraception, despite its availability at a camp hospital. After being provided information in a focus group discussion, a majority of the refugee women said they considered emergency contraception to be an appropriate method if a woman has been raped or tricked into having sex. Dr. Fikree said that many health care providers were uninformed about how to provide emergency contraception; they followed no consistent regimen and had no educational materials or standard service delivery guidelines. Only two clients a month were given emergency contraception and only at the camp hospital. Family planning services in the camp offer only birth control pills and condoms. The report recommended improvements in training and counseling regarding emergency contraception. Community elders indicated at focus groups that they strongly supported provision of the method at health facilities and dissemination of information about emergency contraception to youth groups and women’s support groups and at drama and puppetry performances. # # # Enhancing the Use of Emergency Contraception in a Refugee Setting: Findings from a Baseline Survey in Kakuma Refugee Camps, Kenya, Esther Muia, Fariyal F. Fikree, and Joyce Olenja. Nairobi, Kenya: Population Council. August 2000. The Population Council is an international, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that seeks to improve the wellbeing and reproductive health of current and future generations around the world and to help achieve a humane, equitable, and sustainable balance between people and resources. The Council conducts biomedical, social science, and public health research and helps build research capacities in developing countries. Established in 1952, the Council is governed by an international board of trustees. Its New York headquarters supports a global network of regional and country offices.