The Society for Family Health (SFH) has intensified efforts to promote family planning in Kwara State through its Delivering Innovation in Self-Care (DISC) project, as reported by the Nigerian Tribune.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin during an ongoing four-day supportive supervisory visit to family planning health facilities in the state, Jennifer Adebambo, the Country Manager for Partnership and Collaboration for the SFH-DISC project, said that there has been significant progress in the adoption of self-injectable contraceptives by women.

During an advocacy visit to the Kwara State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina El-Imam, Jennifer Adebambo stressed the need for collaboration between the state government and SFH-DISC to improve family planning services in the state.

The Commissioner, represented by the Director of Public Health, Dr. Oluwatosin Fakayode, appreciated the efforts of SFH-DISC in family planning advocacy, counseling, and training programs. The state government pledged to collaborate with SFH-DISC and sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance family planning activities in the state.

The Commissioner emphasized the state government’s commitment to enhancing healthcare delivery, particularly in family planning and maternal health, through stronger partnerships and improved service

The Country Manager for Partnership and Collaboration at SFH-DISC, who expressed excitement about the high acceptance rate of self-injectable contraceptives among women in the state, said that, “Clients are excited, and there is high acceptance of family planning and the self-injectable methods, especially among women in Kwara State”.

Adebambo emphasized that Nigeria has adopted the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2019 guidelines on self-care. She described self-care as the ability of individuals and communities to manage their health with or without the involvement of healthcare providers.

The SFH-DISC project has provided capacity building support to the healthcare workforce in Kwara State, through the empathy-based counseling (EBC), data quality, and demand generation (DG) trainings. The EBC approach enables providers to offer supportive and non-judgmental counseling to clients, empowering them to make informed choices about their reproductive health.

She also said that the state has received renewed supplies of various family planning contraceptives, ensuring availability and accessibility for clients. Adebambo noted that the supportive supervisory visits revealed that healthcare providers are effectively implementing the training received, and clients are benefiting from the self-injectable method.

Also speaking, the Kwara State Programme Advisor for SFH-DISC 2.0, Tolani Fagbohun, explained that the project is being expanded to all 16 local government areas of the state, adding that the supervisory visits aimed to provide healthcare providers with the necessary information and support to enhance family planning services.

Fagbohun emphasized the importance of clients making informed choices about family planning, rather than being coerced or forced. “Clients are happy about the self-care approach, particularly the privacy and financial support it provides,” she said.