Unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV infection continue to be a major reproductive health problem, globally and in Africa. (1-4) Family planning can reduce the number of deaths among women by preventing unintended pregnancies, which account for about 30% of all births in sub-Saharan Africa. (5,6) In Lesotho almost one-third of currently married women have an unmet need for family planning, 11% for spacing their children and 20% for limiting childbearing. In 2004, 38% of births in Lesotho were unwanted and 12% were mistimed (wanted later), and 41% of all births to women under age 20 were unwanted. (7) Providing sexual health and contraceptive services in an age-appropriate environment and manner is of importance to young women. (2) Barriers still remain to effective use of family planning services, especially in this age group, (7) among whom lack of adequate knowledge and awareness has been found to be associated with failure to use contraceptives. (1) Lack of detailed and accurate information on contraceptives has resulted in reluctance to adopt family planning methods, as some potential users want to know their side-effects and contraindications. (8-11) Among university students in Ethiopia only about 44% had ever heard about emergency contraceptives and less than 10% had accurate knowledge regarding when to use them. (10) In a study in Nigeria major factors that influenced the choice of contraceptives for users were convenience and effectiveness. (12)
