New family planning service offers women another choice |17 September 2011

The Alliance of Solidarity for the Family (ASFF) is now offering these services for women free of charge.

At its clinic based in Dr Chetty’s Complex on Malakoff Street, the ASFF offers these services for women everyday from 8am to 6.30pm except on Wednesdays, when the services stop at 4pm.

This is because every Wednesday from 4.30pm to 6.30pm a gynaecologist sees patients on an appointment basis.
These new services for women follow those for men which ASFF and the Nurses Association of the Republic of Seychelles (Nars) launched last month.

Women can phone the ASFF on 4323211 for appointment and advice.
Monica Servina, an experienced nurse working with ASFF, said a gynaecologist and a urologist will see female and male patients respectively every Wednesday between 4.30 and 6.30pm. She noted that the two specialists will alternate their clinic every Wednesday.

Mrs Servina said the number of women who visited district clinics for contraceptives and other mentioned services, including doing their pap smear tests, have gone down considerably as statistics from the Ministry of Health show.

She noted that in line with the government’s liberalisation policy where other agencies and organisations can also provide such services, the ASFF has decided to step in.

“There is a need to provide women with another choice,” said Mrs Servina.

She noted that the important thing is to help reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies, detect cervical cancers early and give advice to women who decide to come to the clinic for any kind of help.

Mrs Servina said a large variety of condoms are also available free of charge at its clinic.

The ASFF is receiving the support of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) for these services.

The IPPF is a global non-governmental organisation with the broad aims of promoting safe sexual and reproductive health.

The IPPF is financially supported by governments, trusts, and foundations including the European Commission and the United Nations Population Fund for such projects.

M-A.L.