Family Planning: Empowering Zanzibar families to make informed choices

ZANZIBAR: FOR families, the decision about when to have children and how many children to have can affect almost every aspect of household life, from the health of mothers and children to the ability of parents to provide adequate care, education and other basic needs.

In Zanzibar, renewed efforts to expand family planning are therefore being linked not only to reproductive health but also to the wider wellbeing and development of families and communities.

The Zanzibar Revolutionary Government has stressed the importance of strengthening family planning education and services to reduce unintended pregnancies, improve maternal and child health and help families plan births according to their needs and ability to provide for their children.

Acting Minister for Health, Dr Saada Mkuya Salum, said family planning should be understood as a means of helping individuals and couples make informed decisions rather than as an attempt to prevent people from having children.

“Family planning does not mean preventing people from having children; it helps families plan the number and timing of children according to their needs and ability,” she said during Zanzibar’s commemoration of World Contraception Day at Ocean View, Kilimani.

Dr Saada said young people, particularly girls, should receive greater attention because of their role in Zanzibar’s population growth and future development.

She called for information to be presented in simple and understandable language and for services to be made accessible and youth-friendly.

The Minister urged religious leaders, community leaders, health workers and development partners to work together in providing family planning information.

She said simple educational materials, including leaflets, should be made readily available at health facilities and within communities.

Dr Saada also highlighted the importance of preventing pregnancies that occur too soon after childbirth, which can increase health risks for mothers and children.

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The message is particularly important as Zanzibar continues to experience growing demand for reproductive health services.

A Reproductive and Child Health Coordinator in Zanzibar, Ms Saida Abubakar Mohamed, said the number of family planning users increased from 95,642 in 2023 to 100,539 in 2025, an increase of 4,897 users.

Family planning services are available at all government health facilities, while permanent methods such as tubal ligation and vasectomy are provided at district, regional and referral hospitals, she said.

The increase in users suggests growing awareness and acceptance, but health officials say more effort is needed to ensure people receive accurate information and can access services that meet their needs. Young people are an important part of this effort.

According to Saida, use of family planning services among people aged 15 to 24 rose from 21,123 in 2023 to 25,376 in 2025. The increase covers different methods and has been supported by continuing public awareness on reproductive health.

The number of men using family planning services increased from 822 in 2023 to 1,292 in 2025. Condoms account for much of the male use, while acceptance of vasectomy remains limited.

Greater male involvement is important because decisions about pregnancy spacing and family size affect both partners.

Involving men can also help women avoid facing opposition when seeking reproductive health services.

However, Saida, a nurse specialist, explained that increased use does not mean that all barriers have disappeared.

She said negative attitudes towards family planning, misinformation about the safety of some contraceptive methods and limited understanding within communities remain challenges.

Some women also face opposition from their husbands when they want to use family planning methods, while male participation, although increasing, remains relatively low.

The World Health Organisation’s Zanzibar representative, Dr Ndoungou Salla, emphasised the need to remove financial, geographical and social barriers, as well as information gaps that prevent women and couples from obtaining reproductive health services.

UNFPA representative, Ali Haji Hamad, said access to quality family planning services is an important component of implementing Zanzibar’s Development Vision 2050, particularly its focus on health, wellbeing and investment in human resources.

Development partners are also supporting efforts to expand access. Resident Director of Marie Stopes International (MSI) Tanzania, Patrick Kinemo, said the Start Small project contributed to an increase in contraceptive use in Zanzibar from 15.3 per cent to 17.9 per cent.

MSI is now implementing the ‘Vijana Kwanza project,’ targeting young people both in and outside schools with accurate reproductive health information and youth-friendly services, while also strengthening government health facilities to respond to young people’s needs.

Despite the progress, Zanzibar still has a significant gap to close. In 2025, 50.1 per cent of demand for family planning was satisfied with modern contraceptive methods, compared with the global target of at least 75 per cent by 2030.

World Contraception Day, observed every September 26, seeks to raise awareness of family planning and reproductive health, with the broader vision of ensuring that every pregnancy is wanted.

During the commemorations, Ministry of Health officials conducted a radio programme on family planning and Islam through ZBC’s Spice FM and organised service days at Mwera and Magirisi health facilities.

The continuing challenge is therefore not simply increasing the number of people using family planning services. It is ensuring that women, men and young people have accurate information, access to safe services and the freedom to make informed choices.

When families can plan the timing and spacing of pregnancies, they are better positioned to protect maternal and child health, provide care for their children and plan for their household’s future.

Strengthening family planning is consequently not only a health intervention, it is an investment in healthier families, stronger communities and Zanzibar’s long-term development.