{
  "id": 9787990,
  "title": "Gauteng Health concerned about low contraceptive use among women",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/gauteng-health-concerned-about-low-contraceptive-use-among-women",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-25T15:37:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SABC News",
    "slug": "sabc-news",
    "url": "https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/1163643-2/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Gauteng Health Department is expressing concern over the low rate of contraceptive usage among women in the province. This issue is particularly salient as the world marks Contraception Day, an event aimed at promoting awareness of contraceptives, dispelling myths surrounding them, and informing the public about reproductive rights. According to the department's spokesperson, Steve Mabona, only a little over 30% of women in Gauteng utilize contraceptive services, which falls short of the department's desired benchmark.\n\nMabona highlighted that low utilization of contraceptives is one of the primary contributors to unplanned pregnancies in the province. Despite the availability of contraceptives free of charge at public healthcare facilities, just over 32% of eligible women accessed these services in the first quarter of the 2026/2027 financial year, falling far below the department's target of 43%. This statistic underscores the urgency of addressing the issue, which the Gauteng Health Department is actively working to improve.",
  "summary": "The concern comes on the eve of World Contraception Day.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}