PRB

Young people in Nigeria lack access to contraceptive information and services that are tailored to their needs. Only one out of three young women in Nigeria ages 15 to 24 who have a need for family planning are currently using a modern contraceptive method—and this proportion has decreased since 2013. PRB partnered with Novel Association for Youth Advocacy (NAYA) in Nigeria to create a suite of products highlighting the need for government to invest finances and resources into adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health, including contraceptive information and services.

About 80% of the health facilities in Nigeria are primary health care (PHC) facilities and, because they are nearest to communities and easiest to access, PHC facilities are the first point of contact with health services for many Nigerians, including youth. Integrating adolescent- and youth-friendly health services (AYFHS) into PHC facilities is proven to increase access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services for adolescents and youth. To highlight the policies and guidelines that already exist to support integration of SRH services for adolescents and youth into PHC facilities, PRB and NAYA created a brochure targeting state-level Primary Health Care Development Boards. The brochure recommends concrete steps that can be taken to implement these policies to improve access to and create an enabling environment for AYFHS.

The Nigerian government relies heavily on donors and implementing partners to fund family planning, including AYFHS. In response, PRB and NAYA produced a suite of four state-specific fact sheets. These fact sheets provide subnational data on factors related to youth SRH and calls on the Ministries of Health in the Federal Capital Territory and in Benue, Kwara, and Nasarawa states to ensure dedicated, sustainable funding to meet young people’s contraceptive needs. Recommended actions include creating and funding a specific budget line for AYFHS that covers contraceptive information and services and promoting development of other sustainable financing mechanisms for adolescent- and youth-friendly health programs and services.