Contraceptive implants are widely used throughout the world as a long acting form of birth control. Their use, especially in low income countries, has steeply increased since 2012 when implant manufacturers lowered their prices under the Implant Access Program (IAP). 

However, there is a lack of access to implant removal services worldwide. As the removal procedure is more difficult than the insertion, the current status is that implants are being widely inserted, but there are insufficient resources to provide removal on demand. Current removal procedure requires manual incision and extraction, which is hard to predict and uncomfortable for both the patient and the operator. 

This issue particularly affects women in the most rural areas where access to health care is scarce. The typical users of such implants are young women desiring to delay or space their pregnancies. Limited access to removal services will ultimately deprive these women from controlling their fertility, and block them into unreliable contraception. 

" Now is the right time to tackle the issue of ensuring ready access to high-quality implant removal services. "  We believe the removal procedure should be as easy as the insertion, providing women with better access to removal services.