MSI Nigeria Reproductive Choices have stated that Nigeria’s population has 50 per cent of women in their representative age with a fertility rate of 5.7 and contraceptive prevalence of only 13 per cent, reports page3news.com.ng
Emmanuel Ajah, Country Director, MSI Nigeria Reproductive Choices, who disclosed these on Tuesday in Abuja said that the maternal mortality rate remains high at 545 deaths per 100, 000 live births.
According to him, “due to the current and widening family planning commodity plan in the country, a lot of women who need family planning and contraceptive options do not readily have the commodities available because of shortages. By increasing availability of family planning commodities and service delivery points, we will be helping women and families to have their fertility intentions.”
Page3news.com.ng reports that Ajah pointed out that by 2030, it is estimated that 22 million women and girls will have demand for Family Planning services.
“The core of our strategic vision is to ensure that 1 in 4 of these women will have their choice of contraception needs met and achieved through direct MSI Nigeria services or through MSI Nigeria-supported service providers operating seamlessly within both the public and private sectors. This will reflect our client-centred belief to empower every woman and girl to take control of their life, and on their terms by providing a bouquet of family planning options within her means.
“Reaching the most underserved has been our greatest impact at MSI Nigeria Reproductive Choices. More than 70% of MSI Nigeria outreach clients are living in poverty, four times higher than the proportion of Family Planning users nationally who are poor. Public facilities supported by MSI Nigeria reach 62% more adolescents than the percentage of national Family Planning demand coming from adolescents in the country. So, over 27% of MSI Nigeria outreach clients are adolescents, five times higher than the percentage of national Family Planning demand coming from adolescents,” Emmanuel Ajah stated.
The MSI Reproductive Choices Country Director added that the organisation contributed over 30% of all family planning service users in Nigeria in 2022 alone.
“According to our impact report for last year, we supported 3.3 million clients with various sexual and representative healthcare services, translating to the prevention of 3.1 million unintended pregnancies while saving the lives of 17,050 women and girls from maternal mortality.”
Page3news.com.ng reports that MSI Nigeria Reproductive Choices is currently operating in 15 states in Nigeria and have 492 Marie Stopes Ladies (MS Ladies) who are community-based, but well-trained women that move from door-to-door in communities to identify and provide quality care to women and girls even in the conflict zones of Northern Nigeria where they work in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.
Ajah expressed that MSI Nigeria Reproductive Choices have made huge impact on the people of Nigeria and the general health system. “According to the Family Planning dashboard, 16,051 health workers in Nigeria have been trained by MSI Nigeria between 2009 and 2022. About 38% of all public health workers who are trained in sexual and representative health in Nigeria attended MSI Nigeria training from inception,” Ajah added.