Unmet need and the demand for family planning in Addis Ababa

Abstract

A study was conducted in 1993 to estimate the unmet need for family planning service in Addis Ababa. The city was categorized for the purpose of the study, based on population density. Five kebeles were selected from each category and one hundred households from each kebele and a total of seven hundred fifty women were included. Among the interviewed, the total unmet need was 49% (368), of which 43.7% (328) want to limit and 5.3% (40) want to space. The prevalence of contraceptive use (met need) was 21.6% (162), indicating a great deal of potential users and the need for appropriate method to reach them. It was found that age, knowledge about contraception and level of education of respondents were the most important factors affecting unmet need and there was no significant interactive effect.