SFH Nigeria Website 
News and Photo Stories -Week 39
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by
SFH IN THE NEWS
Voice of Nigeria, 22 September 2024
Stakeholders reaffirm commitment to adolescent health programmes
Stakeholders in Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) have reaffirmed their commitment to expand adolescent health programmes as part of a broader development agenda. The commitment was made in a communiqué issued at the end of the two-day A360 Nigeria Annual National Pause and Reflect Summit on reproductive and sexual health for adolescents, held in Lagos from 18 to 19 September. A360 Nigeria aims to address barriers to accessing and using modern contraceptives and improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health. The communiqué, signed by 18 stakeholders from the public and private sectors, traditional and religious leaders, and development partners, outlined plans to implement a multi-sectoral approach to delivering ASRH programmes.
The Punch, 23 September 2024
Include adolescent health interventions in states’ budgets, FG tells govs
The Federal Government of Nigeria has urged state governments to allocate funds for adolescent health interventions in their annual budgets to promote family health. The Director of the Gender, Adolescent, School, and Elderly Division at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. John Ovuoraye made the call on Thursday during a two-day A360 Pause and Reflect Summit organised by the Society for Family Health for its A360 project. Addressing the funding challenges of sexual and reproductive health in Nigeria for adolescents, Ovuoraye stressed the need for both federal and state governments to prioritise adolescent health programs…
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Blueprint, 22 September 2024
Group urges women to embrace diverse family planning methods
A non-governmental organisation, NGO, Akena+Health in collaboration with Society for Family Health (SFH) and Association of Reproductive Family Health( ARFH) has called on Nigerian women and girls to adopt different contraception methods, especially, Depot-Medroxyprogesterone Acetate-Subcutaneous, DMPA-SC method, to reduce mortality, ensure convenient child spacing and unwanted pregnancies.
Akena+Health, which made the appeal during the implementation of research dissemination meeting for the research programme, Innovation for Choice and Autonomy, ICAN, held in Enugu with women…
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SFH ACTIVITIES
SFH at United Nations General Assembly
We are excited to see our Managing Director, Dr Omokhudu Idogho and our Health Policy Officer for Africa Region, Yusuf Hassan Wada join global leaders in this high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly.
This reinforces our commitment as an organisation to transforming the global health landscape through collaborative partnerships, policy advocacy, and innovative solutions aimed at achieving universal health coverage and addressing key health challenges across Africa and beyond.
SFH Access at APPMAN Conference
Recently, the Managing Director of SFH Access, Pharm Dennis Aizobu, delivered a keynote speech at the Association of Pharmaceutical Product Marketers of Nigeria (APPMAN) Conference. The conference was centred around the important roles of pharmacy owners in the pharmaceutical supply chain. His presentation emphasised the importance of pharmacy owners in maintaining an efficient supply chain and enhancing healthcare services. In honour of his commitment and innovative leadership within the pharmaceutical industry, he received the APPMAN Inspirational Leader Award.
GF Country Team Visits Nigeria for Strategic Project Discussions
The Global Fund (GF) Country Team recently visited Nigeria to engage in critical discussions aimed at advancing the N-THRIP (Nigeria TB-HIV Reach Impact Project) initiative. The visit included a series of high-level presentations and meetings with key stakeholders at the Exclusive Serene Hotel in Abuja. Dr Charles Odima, N-THRIP Project Director, shared insights into the project’s transition and progress, highlighting the successes and challenges faced in implementing strategies to combat TB and HIV in Nigeria.
Facilitating the discussions, Deputy Managing Director, Dr Jennifer Anyanti, led an interactive session involving the GF Country Team, representatives from the CCM, the PR IHVN, PEPFAR representatives, and SFH team. The meeting provided a platform for in-depth deliberations on the project’s milestones, future plans, and the importance of continued partnership. Dr Jennifer also engaged in a strategic dialogue with Dr Mensah, Country Director of IHVN, to strengthen collaboration and enhance the impact of the project moving forward.
SFH Sierra Leone joins partners in commemorating World Contraception Day
SFH Sierra Leone marked World Contraception Day in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and key partners in the Family Planning (FP) and Sexual and Reproductive Health sectors. Held at The Hub Hotel under the theme “A Choice for All. Freedom to Plan, Power to Choose,” the event aimed to raise public awareness about the importance of contraception in empowering women and girls, reducing adolescent pregnancies, and improving maternal health in Sierra Leone. The meeting highlighted progress made in the country’s FP2030 commitments, addressed existing barriers, and reinforced the Government of Sierra Leone’s and international partners’ dedication to expanding access to contraceptive services.
Notable attendees included Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Charles Senessie, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Country Director, Nadia Rasheed, and Director of Reproductive and Child Health at the Ministry of Health, Dr Tom Sesay, along with Country Directors from partner organisations such as JHPIEGO, DKT, Marie Stopes, and FCDO. Key discussions focused on celebrating achievements related to family planning services, while also drawing attention to persistent challenges such as social norms, myths, misconceptions, and geographical disparities that limit access to contraception. The event further outlined the government’s ongoing efforts to integrate family planning services, supported by investment plans and partnerships with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and other organisations. A call to action was issued, encouraging stakeholders from the media, healthcare providers, civil society, and the public to actively participate in transforming social norms, expanding access to family planning services, and ensuring the financial sustainability of these programmes.
IntegratE Project holds Quarterly Review Meeting in Ikorodu LGA, Lagos State
The IntegratE project, aimed at expanding access to quality family planning and primary healthcare services through Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs), held a 2 day quarterly review meeting in Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State. The activity brought together trained providers from Tier 1, 2, and 3 categories of PPMVs, including Community Pharmacists (CPs). The meeting served as a platform for reviewing the progress of the project, addressing challenges, and reinforcing the knowledge and skills of the providers. The event was attended by key stakeholders, including representatives from the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) and the Lagos State Ministry of Health (LSMOH). Maryam Titilayo Abdulsalam, the State Technical Advisor for the IntegratE project, welcomed the participants and outlined the objectives of the meeting, emphasising its role in assessing data and enhancing provider performance.
Jennifer Ladokun, the Regional Programme Manager, in her opening remarks, appreciated the continuous commitment of the providers and the vital support of the PCN representative, Dr Taiwo Filusi, who urged the providers to maintain their reporting standards, as these reports are crucial for policy development in the nation. The meeting featured sessions on documentation, counselling techniques, and the proper use of sick child forms, with role-play exercises to identify and correct gaps in service delivery. Gifts were also presented to the best-performing providers for the quarter. The event concluded with remarks from Dr Filusi and Dr Oniyire from LSMOH, who applauded the efforts of the providers and encouraged them to remain dedicated ambassadors of the IntegratE project.
DISC 2.0 organises a 3-day National Training of Trainers on C4C and Self-Injection Empathetic Counselling
The DISC 2.0 project consortium, led by SFH in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Adolescent 360, Jhpiego, and Marie Stopes Nigeria Reproductive Choices, recently organised a 3-day National Training of Trainers (ToT) on Counselling for Choice (C4C) and Self-Injection Empathetic Counselling. This training equipped our Partners and 32 family planning master trainers from the State Ministries of Health and Primary Health Care Development Agencies of Bauchi, Jigawa, Kwara, Kaduna, Katsina, Oyo, Ogun, and Sokoto states with advanced skills to improve family planning (FP) service delivery. The empathetic counselling modules, an innovation from DISC 1.0, aim to improve provider-client interactions to address client fears and concerns about self-injection. It takes clients through a learning continuum beginning with knowledge sharing, belief stirring, attitude reorientation, practice enhancement, and data quality.
The C4C strategy places the client’s need at the centre and reinforces empathy. By ensuring clients are fully informed about the benefits and potential side effects of their chosen FP methods, the strategy aims to reduce the rates of dissatisfaction and discontinuation, thus improving FP retention rates and overall program effectiveness. Moving forward, the consortium will be conducting state-level trainings for Local Government Area (LGA) Reproductive Health and Family Planning (RH/FP) supervisors with oversight from the FMoH, NPHCDA, and DISC 2.0 partners. These supervisors will cascade the training to facility-based providers, ensuring that frontline healthcare workers are equipped to deliver the highest standard of empathetic and client-centred family planning services. The DISC 2.0 consortium receives funding and technical support from CIFF and PSI to scale up high-quality family planning services, contributing to Nigeria’s sustainable development and improved health outcomes.
SFH at the BHCPF Guideline Preparation Meeting
As part of the effort of the Coordinating Minister of Health to reposition the Healthcare system in Nigeria to achieve a reduction of Maternal and Child mortalities and morbidities as well as accelerate Universal Health Coverage, the FMOH hosted a 3-day stakeholder meeting. The meeting, organised by the Ministerial Oversight Committee for The Basic Healthcare Provision Fund from 25th – 27th September 2024 at Newton Park Hotel in Abuja aimed to review the BHCPF 2020 guidelines in preparation for the full take-off of the BHCPF 2.0.
The meeting was attended by several stakeholders including very senior Directors and Technical team from FMOH, NHIA, NPHCDA, NCDC, Commissioners of Health, Executive Secretaries of the State Social Health Insurance Agencies, State Primary HealthCare Boards, Development Partners including USAID, FCDO, BMGF, WHO, UNICEF, SFH, HSCL, R4D, CHAI, SOLINA, LAFIYA, among other partners. SFH was represented by Director of Health Systems Strengthening, Dayyabu Yusuf and Health Governance Specialist, Kenneth Okoineme. The BHCPF 2024 Guideline was finalised and is set to be presented to the Ministerial Oversight Committee in October for approval. Once approved, it will be implemented by all 36 states and the FCT, as well as over 8000 Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities across Nigeria participating in the BHCPF.
SFH Participates in Family Planning Town Hall Meeting in Delta State
In commemoration of World Contraception Day, SFH COF team, led by Dr Ezechukwu Ikenna Nwokoma, attended the Family Planning Town Hall meeting organised in collaboration with the Delta State Ministry of Health. The event gathered health sector policymakers, specialists, traditional leaders, MDAs, CSOs, and State Implementing Partners to address current challenges and make commitments to improving health outcomes in the state. The town hall meeting featured lectures, panel discussions, and interactive sessions.
SFH was invited to participate as a leading partner in family planning, having supported the state through the COF Project, as well as the recently concluded DISC 1.0 and MPHD projects, which have significantly increased access to and improved the quality of family planning services.
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