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Tech increases access to contraceptives in Cameroon 
A counselling app for family planning, used by nurses at a women and children’s hospital in Yaoundé, Cameroon, has increased the use of long-term reversable contraceptives (LARCs) threefold. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, shows that the impact of the app was similar to giving large discounts on these contraceptives. Nurses used a tablet computer to conduct counselling sessions with clients, which recorded their fertility plans, needs, and preferences regarding contraceptive methods. The digital app uses an internal algorithm to rank methods according to their suitability for the client’s lifestyle and health needs. Professor Susan Athey, from Stanford University and Berk Özler, from the World Bank’s research department – both authors of the study – a ...