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Enhancing access to and uptake of contraception in low-and middle-income countries

New Content Item (1)A cross-journal collection to celebrate World Contraception Day which falls on 26th September each year.

In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), there is an unmet need for modern contraception in over 200 million women. Particularly affected are adolescent girls between the ages of 15 and 19, substantial numbers of which experience negative health effects such as unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortions, pregnancy-related mortality and morbidity and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

Effective interventions to improve access to contraception include implementing laws and policies requiring the provision of sexual education in youths, making such health services adolescent friendly to encourage uptake and more.

This cross-journal collection aims to curate multidisciplinary papers focusing on low and middle-income countries that explore and promote improving access to contraception, particularly amongst adolescents with a particular focus on health policy and systems that can promote contraception uptake.

Featured Journals:

    • Contraception and Reproductive Medicine
    • Reproductive Health
    • Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition
    • International Journal for Equity in Health

Please consult the submission guidelines on the individual journal websites for more information on submission and formatting.

This Collection welcomes submission of Research Articles, Data Notes, Case Reports, Study Protocols, and Database Articles. Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have read the submission guidelines for the relevant journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Enhancing access to and uptake of contraception in low-and middle-income countries" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests will be handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.

  1. Long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) are highly effective at preventing pregnancy and demonstrate favorable client satisfaction. However, limited knowledge, misconceptions, and concerns about side eff...

    Authors: Yuen Wai Hung, Sara Riese, Kofi Issah, Claudette A. Diogo and Nirali Chakraborty
    Citation: Reproductive Health 2025 22:41
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. Family planning is a fundamental strategy to enhance the well-being of women, their partners, and children however, disparities among certain groups of women of reproductive age (WR) persist. This study aims t...

    Authors: Wan Sarifah Ainin Wan Jusoh, S. Maria Awaluddin, Norhafizah Sahril, Norlaila Hamid, Norliza Shamsudin, Norain Abd Wahab, Mohd Shaiful Azlan Kassim and Noor Ani Ahmad
    Citation: Contraception and Reproductive Medicine 2025 10:18
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Access to sexual and reproductive healthcare is internationally regarded as an essential human right. Use of modern contraception is typically selected as a key indicator of women’s reproductive rights. Howeve...

    Authors: Sheridan F. Bowers, Valencia J. Lambert, Aneth Nzali, Anna Samson, Nelusigwe Mwakisole, Hidaya Yahaya, Radhika Sundararajan, Samuel E. Kalluvya, Agrey H. Mwakisole and Jennifer A. Downs
    Citation: Reproductive Health 2025 22:24
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Emergency contraception is an essential method for preventing unintended pregnancies, especially after unprotected sexual intercourse. However, knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to emergency contrace...

    Authors: Patricia Lukusa Mishika, Olivier Mukuku, Amos Kamundu, Kaymarlin Govender, Stanislas Okitotsho Wembonyama and André Kabamba Mutombo
    Citation: Contraception and Reproductive Medicine 2025 10:9
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Female Condoms are 90–95% effective against HIV transmission when correctly and consistently used and are also cost-effective. In general, condoms prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unwanted pr...

    Authors: Cyril Bernsah Fonka and Nicola Christofides
    Citation: Contraception and Reproductive Medicine 2025 10:4
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. Access to contraception can be a transformational intervention towards advancement of education, health, and freedom of choice. Countries have committed to improving access to contraception enshrined in the su...

    Authors: Joseph Kazibwe, Felix Masiye, Marie Klingberg-Allvin, Björn Ekman and Jesper Sundewall
    Citation: Reproductive Health 2024 21:181
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. Contraceptive methods are techniques used to prevent pregnancy during sexual intercourse. The primary goal of contraception is to inhibit the fertilization of an egg by sperm or to prevent the implantation of ...

    Authors: Buzuneh Tasfa Marine and Mihiret Genene Zewde
    Citation: Reproductive Health 2024 21:163
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. Despite decades of a call to action to engage men in reproductive health, men are often left out of programs and interventions. In India, where half of pregnancies are reported as unintended, patriarchal gende...

    Authors: Nadia Diamond-Smith, Yogesh Vaishnav, Usha Choudhary, Payal Sharma, Ankur Kachhwaha, Tamera Panjalingam, Janelli Vallin, Debangana Das and Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan
    Citation: Reproductive Health 2024 21:147
    Content type: Research Published on:

  10. With a keen awareness of the size and health needs of the global adolescent population, governments, nongovernment organizations and the technical and funding agencies that support them continue to seek innova...

    Authors: C. Lane, B.J. Ferguson and V. Chandra-Mouli
    Citation: Reproductive Health 2024 21:125
    Content type: Comment Published on:

  11. Globally, modern contraceptives remain underutilized among postpartum mothers resulting in the rise of short birth intervals. While there are a range of other factors that moderate the uptake of contraceptive ...

    Authors: Rogers Wambi, Huzaima Mujuzi, Aggrey Siya, Changulo Maryhilda C, Ivan Ibanda, Nalubiri Doreen and Walimbwa Stanely
    Citation: Contraception and Reproductive Medicine 2024 9:37
    Content type: Research Published on:

  12. Key populations are defined as groups that are susceptible to HIV, including Men Sex with Men (MSM), Transgender (TG), Persons who Inject Drug (PID), and Female Sex Worker (FSW). These key populations groups a...

    Authors: Ami Kamila, Widyawati Widyawati, Mubasysyir Hasanbasri and Mohammad Hakimi
    Citation: Reproductive Health 2024 21:107
    Content type: Research Published on:

  13. Beyond Bias was an intervention introduced in Burkina Faso, Pakistan and Tanzania, with the aim of reducing health worker bias toward young, unmarried and nulliparous women seeking family planning services. Th...

    Authors: Corrina Moucheraud, Alexandra Wollum, Muhammad Ali Awan, William H. Dow, Willa Friedman, Jean-Louis Koulidiati, Amon Sabasaba, Manisha Shah and Zachary Wagner
    Citation: Contraception and Reproductive Medicine 2024 9:34
    Content type: Research Published on:

  14. In recent decades, medical supervision of the labor and delivery process has expanded beyond its boundaries to the extent that in many settings, childbirth has become a medical event. This situation has influe...

    Authors: Mohaddeseh Bakhshi, Sanaz Mollazadeh, Talat Khadivzadeh, Javad Moghri, Azadeh Saki and Mahboobeh Firoozi
    Citation: Reproductive Health 2024 21:102
    Content type: Study Protocol Published on:

  15. Access to an on-demand pericoital oral contraceptive pill – used to prevent pregnancy within a defined window around sexual intercourse – could offer women more reproductive agency. A contraceptive with this i...

    Authors: Stephen Bell, Susannah Gibbs, Abigail Winskell, Xaviera Villarino, Halle Gill and Kristen Little
    Citation: Reproductive Health 2024 21:93
    Content type: Review Published on:

  16. Unintended pregnancies can adversely affect maternal health, preventable through timely postpartum contraception. During the COVID-19 pandemic, family planning services were constrained by policies that curtai...

    Authors: Sarochinee Sathitloetsakun, Phanupong Phutrakool, Duangporn Maitreechit, Somsook Santibenchakul, Unnop Jaisamrarn and Pimpitcha Puangsricharoen
    Citation: Reproductive Health 2024 21:80
    Content type: Research Published on:

  17. Family planning has significant health and social benefits, but in settings like Uganda, is underutilized due to prevalent community and religious norms promoting large family size and gender inequity. Family ...

    Authors: Katelyn M. Sileo, Christine Muhumuza, Doreen Tuhebwe, Suyapa Muñoz, Rhoda K. Wanyenze, Trace S. Kershaw, Samuel Sekamatte, Haruna Lule and Susan M. Kiene
    Citation: Contraception and Reproductive Medicine 2024 9:28
    Content type: Research Published on:

  18. Globally, sexual and reproductive health is a significant public health issue for women of the reproductive age group. A modern contraceptive method enables individuals and families to manage fertility by redu...

    Authors: Gosa Mankelkl, Altaseb Beyene Kassaw and Beletu Kinfe
    Citation: Contraception and Reproductive Medicine 2024 9:10
    Content type: Research Published on:

  19. Resumption and initiation of contraceptive methods after delivery are of critical importance in ensuring the well-being of the mother and the newborn. However, evidence related with postpartum family planning ...

    Authors: Muzungu Hirwa Sylvain and Rwema Valens
    Citation: Contraception and Reproductive Medicine 2024 9:1
    Content type: Research Published on: