BACKGROUND
Media, Health & Rights Initiative of Nigeria (MRH) organized the maiden edition of the SRHR Summit; the first of its kind in Nigeria in commemoration of World Contraception Day 2024. The objective of this summit was to address the gaps in SRHR services, share best practices, innovative approaches and foster partnerships and collaborations among stakeholders.
PARTICIPANTS
The well attended hybrid event was a gathering of over 200 major stakeholders and development partners in the Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) space in Nigeria. 280 participants (147 in person and 133 virtually) drawn from government, development partners, donor agencies, University Medical Students Associations, young people and adolescent girls, and the media.
HIGHLIGHTS In his welcome address, Dr. Ufuoma Festus Omo-Obi, (Board Chair, MHR) emphasized the need for all stakeholders to join forces to tackle maternal mortality by ensuring improved access to contraception and safe abortion services for all women. Dr. Lucky Palmer (Country Director, Ipas) enjoined partners to ensure women with disabilities are not left out of the conversation as we advocate for free access to SRHR services. In his goodwill message Dr. Ejike Oji (Chair, Association for the Advancement of FP in Nigeria) made a case for family planning becoming a legislative agenda to guarantee budgetary allocation for services and commodities.
Professor Rosemary Ogu (National President, MWAN) expressed are excitement about the summit as “it marks a new dawn for SRHR in Nigeria” She enjoined stakeholders to remain together, connect, network “to ensure that choice for all is a reality; that freedom to plan happens and the power to choose is available to everyone.
In his message, Dr. Martin Migombano (Managing Director, FP2030, WCNA) appreciated MHR for putting together the summit which has brought all the partners in Nigeria together. He further encouraged partners to stay committed to their advocacy for improved access to family planning services.
Dr. Lilian Anomnachi (Executive Director, TAConnect) ably represented by Dr. James Sunday opined that equitable access to Family Planning services and comprehensive SRHR is the foundation for a healthier and more empowered society.
In her statement, the Head, Health Promotion Division, Family Health Department, Federal Ministry of Health, Barr. (Mrs.) Nma Ogbonna assured participants that the ministry is working with key stakeholders to review sections of the criminal code that pose a challenge for provision of safe abortion services as it will no longer be a criminal act in Nigeria in the near future.
Joan Obeta (Communications & Advocacy Officer, YNCSD), Jennifer Adebambo (Country Manager, Society for Family Health), Dr. Joseph Adewale, (Channel Lead, MSI Nigeria Reproductive Choices), Dr. Moji Makanjuola (Executive Director, Int’l Society of Media in Public Health) and other partners lent their voices to the call for improved access to SRHR services in Nigeria. They all agreed that a summit of this sort was a step in the right direction for the advancement of SRHR conversation in Nigeria. The Programme Manager, PAMOJA, Rumunse Obi made a presentation on ‘Strategic Communications for Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRHR). In this session, she shed light on the importance of designing a communication strategy for different audiences, paying attention to sociocultural nuances that can hinder effective communication.
The keynote speaker, Dr Elijah Olushola (Executive Secretary, Ogun State Primary Healthcare Board) spoke on the gains and gaps in the implementation of the STOP guidelines in Ogun State. In his presentation, he gave insight into the series of multistakeholder consultations that held to make sure everyone was on same page before the guideline was adopted. To address the challenge of lack of information on the guideline by health professionals, he mentioned that the State is in the process of condensing the guideline into a pocket-sized booklet, while routine data collection has been enhanced with the provision of laptops at each Primary Health Centre across the State. He advocated for all States to domesticate and adopt the STOP guideline across Nigeria.
The summit also hosted two highly insightful, impactful and educative panel sessions which gave industry practitioners and participants an opportunity to discuss innovative approaches for program design, planning and implementation as well as advocacy to improve access to contraceptive and safe abortion services across Nigeria. Members of the panels were Dr. Morenike Oni (Gender Integration Specialist, Sydani Group), Faithful Ajala (Program Officer, Education as a Vaccine), Dr. Aisha Garba (Health Advisor, Plan International Nigeria), Ema-Olori Oni (Mental Health Counsellor and Psychosocial Support Specialist, MHR), Dr. Ufuoma Festus Omo-Obi (Regional Director, West and Central Africa, Options Consultancy Services), Prof. Rosemary Ogu (National President, MWAN), Dr. Lucky Palmer (Country Director, Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation), Ms. Masturah Baba (ASRH Technical Advisor, Save the Children), Barr. Peace Okeshola (Advisor Legal, Lawyers Alert), Dr. Joseph Adewale (Channel Lead, MSI), Dr. Uba Sabo (Public Health Physician, Association for Reproductive and Family Health) and Dr. Kehinde Okunade (Director Programmes, SOGON).
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- SRHR services, access to contraceptives, and safe abortion services should be addressed as a healthcare issue and not a moral or religious issue.
- SRHR conversations need to be had from a place of gender, empowerment, and social economics dynamics. The narrative needs to change from fear to how services benefit girls and young women first, communities, and the nation.
- The current legal framework needs to change. There is the need to visit and review of the criminal and penal codes in Nigeria relating to SRHR and safe abortion services. This would require advocacy for legislative reform which should include all stakeholders including healthcare providers.
- FMoH must continue to lead the efforts in the institutionalization of STOP guidelines at Sub-National level in the face of the legality of the policy and existing legal codes.
- Programme interventions should leverage the existing and new digital platforms to engage young people on SRHR issues. Given 70% of deaths from unsafe abortion complications is among girls below 19 years.
- Mental and Psychosocial health including disability inclusive programming should be a core part safe abortion services delivery and programmes.
- “Strategic communications approaches” should be adopted while engaging stakeholders on SRHR and Safe Abortion as a way to striking a balance in relation to Nigeria sociocultural landscape.
- Religious and traditional leaders should be involved in program design to foster acceptance in communities, build trust and attain community ownership.
- There should be a deliberate integration of SRHR initiatives into other programs (health, education, economic empowerment, etc.) that target women, girls, boys and families.
- Sustainable health financing initiatives including insurance and strategic purchasing should expressly include contraceptive/SRHR products and safe abortion services.
- All CSO partners should pull resources together and have one agenda in alignment with the government’s goals to promote SRHR.
- Plan, coordinate and deliver a more robust and inclusive SRHR Summit 2.0 in 2025.
CONCLUSION
The SRHR Summit 1.0 was a significant milestone in starting the conversation about improving access to contraception and safe abortion services in Nigeria. Given that the government owes Nigerians a duty of care to support and enable all individuals to fulfil their full potentials. The Summit concluded that the advocacy momentum must be sustained because beneficiaries of improved availability of services are Nigerians.