Meanwhile, in a major boost to Nigeria’s healthcare and manufacturing sector, a leading global pharmaceutical company, Bayer is to establish the first reproductive health commodities manufacturing plant in Sub-Saharan Africa in Nigeria.
The facility, currently under construction in Anambra State, is expected to produce family planning commodities locally, reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imports while creating jobs and stimulating economic growth.
Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, who announced this at the inauguration of High-Level Inter-Ministerial Platform (IMP) on Family Planning, Health, Human Capital, and Sustainable National Development Friday in Abuja described the investment as evidence that President Tinubu’s Executive Order on the pharmaceutical sector, signed in 2024, is attracting significant investments in pharmaceutical manufacturing, diagnostics and health technology.
Speaking at the dissemination of the project’s performance report, Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu, said the state would continue expanding access to healthcare, describing family planning as essential to improving the wellbeing of women and families. He also disclosed that more than 100 new primary healthcare centres are expected to become operational before the end of the year.
The IntegratE project, which ran from October 2021 to July 2026, enabled 29,262 women to access family planning services through trained PPMVs, while 14,541 referrals were made to public health facilities. The state Primary Health Care Development Agency pledged to sustain the gains, while stakeholders noted that improved family planning access could contribute to reducing unintended pregnancies and maternal and child deaths.
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Through the platform, students can access free contraceptives and other SRHR commodities, reliable reproductive health information, confidential guidance from qualified family planning providers and discreet delivery services to campuses and hostels. The initiative is designed to address barriers such as cost, distance, stigma, misinformation and concerns about privacy.
The intervention aligns with Lagos State’s efforts to reduce unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections among young people while expanding youth-friendly services. UNFPA said the initiative would help address unmet family planning needs and enable young Nigerians to make informed decisions about their health and futures.
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Under the IntegratE project, 29,262 women obtained family planning services through trained PPMVs, while thousands more were referred to public facilities for additional care. The project also introduced digital supportive supervision and contributed to the institutionalisation of a tiered accreditation system for PPMVs.
Health stakeholders said the experience provides lessons for strengthening Nigeria’s reproductive health system, especially as a large proportion of residents rely on private providers. The Enugu State Government has pledged to sustain the gains while expanding its primary healthcare network.
👉 Read more:
Federal Government inaugurates Inter-Ministerial Platform on Family Planning, Health, Human Capital and National Development as part of efforts to transform Nigeria’s rapidly growing population into a productive workforce capable of driving sustainable economic growth.
Enugu: Government commits to sustaining family planning gains and plans to activate more than 100 new PHCs before year-end.
Lagos: Government, UNFPA and partners launch a digital platform providing students with free contraceptives, SRHR information and confidential support.
Family planning access: An Enugu intervention reached 29,262 women through trained community medicine vendors, demonstrating the role of community-based services in expanding reproductive healthcare.
Thank you for reading this edition of the SRHR News Update.
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