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Paidamoyo Chipunza Harare Bureau
THE government has dismissed claims by Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede that contraceptives have serious negative side effects on women saying his claims were based on unproven research findings.
In a joint statement with the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council on Tuesday, the government said contraceptives did not cause birth defects or infertility, thus the allegation that they retarded population growth was misplaced.
“The assertions that these medicines are dangerous and cause birth defects are totally false and without any scientific backing,” reads the statement.
It further says the government uses international standards on the use of any medicines and through the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe, all medical products, contraceptives included were safe, of high quality and properly registered.
However, the government said like any other medicines or drugs, there could be side effects experienced with the use of contraceptives in the minority of users.
These side effects include headaches, dizziness, abdominal discomfort, irregular bleeding patterns and weight changes.
“Medical and scientific evidence has shown that the benefits of using contraceptives far out-weigh the minor side effects caused by their use.”
It said while natural methods of family planning promulgated by Mudede could be used as alternatives, the risk of failure was very high thereby putting women at risk of having unplanned pregnancies.
The joint statement also said as better and newer products became available, older products were phased out.
“We would like to inform the public that the contraceptives being used in Zimbabwe are safe and are the same standard and quality to those used the world over. The Ministry of Health will continue with the policy of promoting family planning as a way of improving the health and socio-economic status of the population.”
Of late, Mudede who has no medical background, has been advocating for the ban of contraceptives arguing that they were not good for women and had impacted negatively on the country’s population growth which has remained stagnant at 13 million.
Family planning methods available in Zimbabwe include depo-provera, jadelle, implanon and norplant among others.
Online Reporter