Marie Stopies International/Zambia (MSIZ) is supplementing the government’s efforts in the provision of family planning services in rural areas of Zambia. Both Rural Centres in Chiyawa and Sichili have not been offering long-acting methods because of lack of family planning training, supplies and instruments. MSIZ is the first organization to introduce long-acting family planning methods in both areas. MSIZ donated family planning instruments and supplies to the clinics and trained the health workers to provide long-acting methods. They also oriented community health workers to raise awareness in their communities about their contraceptive choices.

"The response was so overwhelming," said Pamela Nyirenda, MSIZ Programme Assistant. "The only hindrance was lack of power supply in the area. The people in the communities now have an opportunity to choose what method they want unlike in the past where everyone was subjected to taking the short-term methods which were also in short supply."

MSIZ has also been working throughout 2009 with Family Health International and Population Services International in Zambia to have Sino-implant (II) registered, which was achieved in January. MSIZ will work with sites such as these to introduce Sino-implant (II) which has a disposable trocar and more appropriate for resource-poor settings.