Abstract
One out of six Moldovan women have an unmet need for family planning. The current study explores which groups of women living in the Republic of Moldova lack behind and have a relatively high unmet need for family planning compared to other women. In addition, the study examines if the higher unmet need for family planning of these women can be explained by differences in their contraceptive use, sexual activity, fecundity or fertility intentions. The study uses data of the Generations and Gender Survey collected in the Republic of Moldova in 2020. Unmet need is examined among 2,468 women aged 15-49. Three vulnerable groups of women are identified: Women in the lowest household income quintile, women with low and medium educational levels, and women who are at the end of their childbearing years. Women in the lowest household income quintile and women with low or medium educational attainment have a lower contraceptive use and have therefore a higher unmet need compared to other women. Older women and women with more children tend to have a higher unmet need for family planning because they have fewer medium and long-term fertility intentions, while their contraceptive use, sexual activity and fecundity remain unchanged. These results suggest that access to contraceptives is not enough to ensure equal use of contraceptives. To improve universal access to family planning and reduce unmet family planning need, the Republic of Moldova could invest in policies targeted at the three most vulnerable groups of women: the poor, the low and medium educated and those at the end of their childbearing years.
