Results of a contraceptive prevalence survey in Niamey, Niger

A community-based knowledge, attitudes and practices survey was conducted among women in Niamey, Niger, more than two years after the initiation of the first public-sector family planning program in 1984. Prevalence of modern method use was nine percent among women aged 15-49 and 10 percent among those currently in union, which may represent one of the highest levels in the Sahel. Eighty-seven percent of respondents indicated interest in using family planning in the future. More than 75 percent of all women of reproductive age knew of at least one modern method without prompting: Radio and television had reached a larger proportion of the population with family planning information than had the more traditional method of communication, the community meeting. Survey and focus group results indicate a general acceptance of birth spacing as well as a need for more personalized communication by program staff and clarification of Islam's position on family planning.