Nigeria

Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa. With vast rural areas, health facilities are scarce and are frequently understaffed or undersupplied. Where services do exist, cultural and social pressures can limit women’s ability to use them. For example, having large families is highly valued, thus using modern contraception to space or limit births is still beyond the reach of thousands of women, especially those in conservative communities, who may need their husbands’ permission to seek medical care. 

It is within this context that EngenderHealth’s work in Nigeria, which began in 1985, strives to make motherhood safer and expand contraceptive options.

 
Making Motherhood Safer
EngenderHealth supports efforts to prevent and treat obstetric fistula, a vaginal tear resulting from prolonged obstructed labor that can lead to incontinence, nerve damage, and severe social stigma. Since 2004, EngenderHealth has worked with local partners to  educate communities and raise awareness about fistula prevention and treatment in the northern regions of Sokoto, Zamfara, Kano, Kebbi, and Katsina regions.  To date, our efforts have:

• Improved health providers' fistula repair and care skills (including counseling);
• Improved logistics and supplies for repair surgery;
• Developed support services for women who are treated for fistula and want to reunite with their families and communities.

 
Expanding Contraceptive Options
Through the ACQUIRE Project, funded by USAID, EngenderHealth works to advance the availability, quality, and use of reproductive health and family planning services throughout Nigeria. Highlights include:

• Promoting the use of the intrauterine device (IUD)—a low-cost, long-acting contraceptive method—to help women space or limit their pregnancies;
• Addressing myths about and raising community awareness of the IUD;
• Training staff in IUD insertion and removal;
• Promoting male involvement in family planning.