FG/SFH plans 2nd Phase self-care initiative : targets more states

The Society for Family Health, SFH, says, it will
Continue to support the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in delivering its mandate of ensuring that no ONE, no WOMAN or GIRL is left behind.

The Managing Director, Society for Family Health, SFH, Dr Omokhudu Idogho, made the promise at a gathering meant to disseminate the achievements of the NGO “ DELIVERING INNOVATIONS IN SELF-CARE (DISC 1.0) PROJECT, in Lagos.

Dr Omokhudu explained that, sharing evidence and impact at the dissemination of the Delivering Innovation in Self – Care (DISC) 1.0 project cod not have come at a better time than now having achieved so much in the prevention of unintended pregnancies which had contributed to the reduction in maternal mortality and morbidity and with the advent of self-care women have been empowered to cater to their SRH, reducing unnecessary burden for the healthcare worker, thereby strengthening the health system.

“ In Nigeria today, the wide range of modern family planning methods, especially the introduction of self-injection of the Depot Medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPASC), now allows women and their spouse or partner attain the desired number of children they want and to determine the spacing of their pregnancies, affirming the workability of the the Self Injection “ We know this works. She stressed

Pointing out that, “ the DISC Project was launched in 3 foundation states of Lagos, Oyo and Niger in 2020 and scaled up through its catalytic impact to reach 15 states by August 2022, not leaving out Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kwara, Ogun, Ondo, Abia, Enugu, Delta, Cross Rivers, Rivers and Akwa Ibom, the scope of intervention was also expanded beyond demand creation focus, to include service delivery and health system strengthening support “.

Dr Omokhudu expressed joy that, the project, funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) has exposed women to assume greater power and control over their sexual and reproductive health achieving its vision of bending the curve on uptake and continuation of self-injectable contraception by ensuring that all women who voluntarily choose this method have frictionless access and support through their user journey.

A cross section of beneficiaries who practice self Injection ( Family Planning method ), shared their experiences saying, they were initially worried about the outcome but having taken that decision, they realised there was nothing to worry about.

“ My name is Theresa Francis, I live Lagos, I heard about the Self – Injection when I took my child for immunization, the health workers were telling people how it works and I picked interest in it. I practice what they said and for two years now, I’ve been taking it and whenever I need it, I go to the health center. It help me a lot,because when I want to do anything now, I’m free to do it without fear of getting pregnant. It help me to give some gap before getting pregnant again. I take it every 3 months.

“ She said and I quote, “ when I asked about side effect, the health worker told me there is no side effect but when some people take it, they may still see their period and some don’t see, but for me oo, I don’t see my period and im ok with it so long as it’s not doing me anything “. Theresa.

Mrs Francis advised both married women and young girls especially those who are sexually active, to take advantage of it and avoid unintended pregnancies and for child spacing nothing that the reason some avoid contraceptives is due to side effect, “ assuring them that Self – Injection is different and safe “.
“ My name is Funmi Agbaji, I am, I live in Ketu and I am a Fashion Designer. I also took the Family Planning Self – Injection and even introduced my friends to it although not all of them are confidence to take it due to fear of side effect, and im happy I did. “ I also introduced my children who are 18 and 22 years to the self Injection because they are already adults and no one can tell what they are up to or will he doing, moreso with advent of kidnapping and rapping “.

Asked if it was not too stressful visiting the PHC every 3 months for the injectable, “ No its not, but sometimes they give me two in case I wont be chanced to visit and my husband is aware of it, she advised those who were not convinced to go get the self Injection, adding that it is safe and easy to use.

Also, the Director, Family Health Department, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Lawrence Anyanwu said, supporting women to assume greater power and control over their sexual and reproductive health by using contraceptive self-care methods beginning with DMPA-SC self-injection and implemented in over I,000 health facilities spread over 15 States.

“ This is the way to go because the DISC Project has positively impacted the self-injection/self-care initiative in Nigeria and has provided a number of lessons learnt to support sustainable implementation of community-based family planning/self-care interventions in the country, hence the need for a phase two of this project.

“ The Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare (FMoH & SW) has been providing a wide range of contraceptive methods to ensure that choice of contraceptive methods by clients is not limited. Among the method mix, Injectable contraceptives are becoming increasingly popular among women in Nigeria, due to their convenience, privacy, and effectiveness “ .

According to Dr Anyanwu, “ In furthermore, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare collaborated with various stakeholders to introduce the subcutaneous presentation of Depo medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-SC) in the Uniject™M pre-filled injection system, a three-month contraceptive manufactured by Pfizer, Inc. to increase the choices available to clients “.

Quoting the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), which estimates that 144 women die every day from preventable causes in the process of giving life. – The WHO Report, September 2022, says, Nigeria accounts for over 34% of global maternal deaths while the lifetime risk of dying during pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum or after an abortion for a Nigeria woman is 1 in 22 compared to 1 in 4900 in developed countries.

“ It was in a bid to change this scenario that the country set a modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (mCPR) of 27% by Year 2030 and initiated measures to address the contributing factors “ , he said

Dr Anyanwu appreciated the steps taken by the Society for Family Health towards scaling up the provision and uptake of DMPA-SC/Self-Injection services across Nigeria, those who worked towards repositioning the National Family Planning Programme through various intervention programmes. Including the 15 participating States.

The Deputy Director, Medical Services and Disease Control Programme Manager, Lagos State, Dr Veronica Iyayemi Ayo – Vaughan, in all said, it was necessary to have the topography of Lagos especially the hard – to – reach and the riverine areas to enable everyone access the services.

Presenting the overview of National FP structure, Mrs, Patricia Isikong, Federal Ministry of Health, explaining the graph on Self – Injection, called for commitment in self Injection uptake while in budgeting for health, FP should also have a separate budget.

“ I want stakeholders to do more to move from where we are at present to an enviable height and this can only be achieved, if budget line is created” she stressed.

Award of Outstanding Performance were presented to the Lagos State Primary Healthcare Board, and the Lagos State Ministry of Health.

Juliana Ekong