Abia State Demand Generation Activities Lead to Increased Uptake of Family Planning Services

by | May 31, 2019

Josephine Ofor is a social mobilizer and family planning provider at Umughu PHC in Abia State.

Prior to The Challenge Initiative’s arrival in Abia State, Nigeria, a lack of demand generation activities led to poor uptake of family planning services there. The nine local government areas (LGAs) where the Initiative now works also suffered from low demand for family planning services especially long-acting reversible contraception. When the Initiative began supporting Abia State in July 2018, a social and behavior change communication (SBCC) committee was established and trained to carry out and oversee demand generation activities for family planning. Since the launch of the SBCC committee, uptake of family planning services has increased in the state.

Mrs. Josephine Ofor, a social mobilizer and family planning provider at the Umuhu primary healthcare center (PHC) in Bende LGA, confirmed that her health facility has experienced an upward trend in the number of women who access LARC services.

“We used to have a very few clients come to access condoms and a few injectables, but since demand generation activities began around our community after our SBCC training, we now have a good number of women coming for LARC on daily basis as a result of our sensitization. Most women who accessed family planning services after attending our sensitization activities have been telling others to also come for family planning services”

Through the demand generation activities, especially those involving the Umuhu women’s association, the Umuhu PHC recorded 30 new LARC acceptors in March 2019 alone. Before TCI, no LARC acceptors had been recorded at this PHC.

The chart below shows significant increases in the total number of acceptors in Umuhu as well as revisits, comparing the eight-month period before TCI began supporting implementation there with the eight months after TCI. Total acceptors rose more than 800% from 88 to 804, while total revisits went up by 134%.