A professional nurse at the Village Clinic, who asked to remain anonymous, told OurHealth: “We advise people to go to a pharmacy because Depo-Provera [a contraceptive] is out of stock. We ordered more a long time ago, but it is still not here. Things are not supposed to be like this, we are expected to provide comprehensive health services, which are not happening all of the time,” said the nurse.
‘We also ran out of needles for Nur-Isterate injection. We asked the nearby Bambisana Hospital for needles and only got 20. This is not near enough for the number of women using this injection.”
Nozuko Mavuka, a 48-year-old woman from Mpoza location told OurHealth: “I have been using Depo-Provera but now is not available. At my age I am not planning to have children and want to prevent falling pregnant.”
A 31-year-old mother of three, Babalwa Vinjwa, said: “How are we going to manage our family planning when the clinic is experiencing these stock outs. As women we have reproductive health rights, but the Department of Health is failing us. I go to the pharmacy and pay R60 for this injection. But what about other women who cannot afford this amount?” – OurHealth/Health-e News Service
Tandeka Vinjwa-Hlongwane is an OurHealth Citizen Journalist reporting from Lusikisiki in the OR Tambo health district in the Eastern Cape.
