Nepal set for contraceptive shortage amid funding cuts

Health ministry has cut the contraceptive budget from Rs250 million to Rs170 million for the new fiscal year, while UNFPA has slashed annual funding from $3.2m to $1.06m.

Until a few months ago, many health facilities across the country faced a critical shortage of family planning products, especially Depo-Provera, a birth control shot, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and condoms, among other things. Health authorities had requested the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for those commodities to address the critical shortage.