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KABUL, Afghanistan, May 6, 2004 — The first line of birth-spacing products developed and marketed specifically for Afghanistan was launched here today. In a country with the world's highest maternal mortality rate and the fourth highest child mortality rate, OK oral contraceptives, OK injectable contraceptives and Number One condoms will allow Afghans to better space the births of their children and improve the lives of both mothers and their children. In offering this range of contraceptive products, PSI aims to meet better the needs of Afghan families, who have had limited or no access to such products in the private sector in most of the country. This family planning program is being implemented by PSI and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The new products are available in pharmacies and other appropriate retail outlets at subsidized prices to ensure they are affordable to lower income populations. The product distribution, which will be accompanied by a nationwide birth-spacing educational campaign, is being introduced in direct response to the alarming state of reproductive health in Afghanistan, where the female life expectancy of 47 years is one of the lowest in the world and maternal mortality rate of 1 in 15 is the highest. The spacing of births not only decreases maternal mortality but also benefits the health of young children who are most vulnerable during their early years when they require the full attention of a parent. A 2002 article in USA Today reported that "…Afghans widely agree on the need for more birth control, the men even more than the women. " PSI, which started operations in Afghanistan in 2002 and launched the Clorin safe water system in 2003, has developed a media campaign with the message "Be a Number One/OK family, live a comfortable life." Number One is sponsoring the Afghan Top 40 music show broadcast on Radio Arman. Promising sales of Number One condoms during a four-month pilot project in Herat, Mazaar-e-Sharif, Nangrahar and Kabul Provinces offer a clear indication of both acceptance and unmet demand for family planning products. An official launch ceremony for OK and Number One products was held today at the Ministry of Health in Kabul and was attended by Dr. E. Anne Peterson, the assistant administrator for the Bureau of Global Health at USAID, Her Excellency the Minister of Health Sohaila Seddiq and USAID’s Deputy Mission Director Robert Wilson, as well as other high-level officials. PSI has been implementing contraceptive social marketing programs since
1972 and has had particular success with such programs in Bangladesh,
Pakistan and India. In 2003, PSI delivered 9.4 million couple years
of protection and helped prevent 5.4 million unwanted pregnancies.
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