Morocco introduced the use of the contraceptive chip; As a new technology in the field of birth control, within the continuous national plan for family planning, in an effort to enhance women’s rights with regard to sexual and reproductive health.
And the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Khaled Ait Taleb, revealed the launch of a community project, which seeks to adopt a chip implanted in the shoulder to prevent pregnancy, and it is one of the advanced contraceptive methods that have been launched in Morocco.
The government official explained, a few days ago in parliament, that this “chip or capsule is implanted under a woman’s skin to reduce the chances of pregnancy,” adding that “its validity period is up to 5 years.”
The Minister of Health and Social Protection pointed out, in his speech to Parliament, that “the birth rate in Morocco is declining, as it moved from 31 to about 14,” while the Moroccan population pyramid in recent years has been heading towards aging.
Great efficacy
Al-Tayeb Hamidi, a researcher in health policies and systems, stated that the chip that the Minister of Health and Social Protection spoke about, “is just a piece of flexible plastic the size of a matchstick, 4 centimeters long and 2 millimeters thick.”
My acid continued, in his statement to “Sky News Arabia”, that the chip “is placed in the woman’s arm under the skin through a very simple operation performed by the attending physician or in any health center and does not require a long time.”
The same source explained, “Its role is to constantly release hormones similar to progesterone, which basically prevents ovulation in the woman’s uterus, and thus pregnancy does not occur, because its effectiveness reaches 99.9 percent to prevent pregnancy, which means that its effectiveness is similar to other contraceptive methods.”
On this basis, “this technology is suitable for some women who are prevented from taking birth control pills, or implanting the intrauterine device, or women who forget to take birth control pills on time, and women who come from remote areas far from health centers and it is difficult for them to travel to obtain contraceptive pills from these centers regularly,” adds the research physician.
Large arsenal of means
The head of the Moroccan Society for Reproductive Health (non-governmental), considered modest adoption, that “the family planning program in Morocco is one of the most successful programs developed by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection.”
Modest said, in her interview with “Sky News Arabia”: “When the fertility rate exceeded 7, the late King Hassan II gave his instructions to create a national program for family planning in the Kingdom.”
Thus, this program is “a great legacy for family planning, as it contributes to economic growth and prosperity of society, and helps women and couples to organize their families and program their lives,” added the spokeswoman.
The doctor, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology, stated, “The Ministry of Health and Social Protection has developed a large arsenal of contraceptive methods, recently reinforced with this segment; all of which are free methods provided by health centers in all regions of the Kingdom.”
The head of the Moroccan Association for Reproductive Health praised “these important steps taken by the ministry to bring the latest methods of birth control closer to women, given that this method may cost up to $200 in European countries, and in Morocco it is provided free of charge by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, within the framework of the efforts it has made.” in the field of reproductive health.
Still life aging and program evaluation
There were recommendations of a parliamentary committee to review the family planning adopted by the Kingdom, because it has not been subject to any evaluation since its activation for more than 4 decades, at a time when the Moroccan population pyramid is heading towards aging with the decline in the birth rate.
The parliamentary committee revealed, in a previous report, that the number of elderly people over the age of 60 will increase from more than 3 million in 2014 to more than 10 million expected in 2050.
The head of the Moroccan Network for the Right to Health and the Right to Life (non-governmental), Ali Lotfi, notes that “Morocco has made great strides since the seventies and eighties in parenting and childbirth programs, and has now achieved very positive results,” pointing out that “there are demographic indicators that raise big questions.” Especially about the creeping aging of Moroccan society.
Lutfi added, in his statement to “Sky News Arabia”, that “Morocco is witnessing a significant and noticeable demographic shift at the level of indicators, and it is related to the rate of newborns, which was high in the early sixties and seventies until the eighties, while today it is witnessing a significant decline.”
An activist in the health sector believes that “the cause is not always biological, similar to the methods of contraception that are included in the birth control programme, but there are also economic, social and cultural factors.”
In this context, “the improvement in the living conditions of a number of Moroccans has led to a decrease in the number of newborns in exchange for an increase in life expectancy at birth and a decrease in the death rate among Moroccans,” according to the same source.