Addressing unmet need for contraceptives among adolescents using community-embedded intervention

The shortfall in contraception and sexual reproductive health services in Nigeria, particularly for adolescents, is resulting in high pregnancy rates. Prevailing social attitudes and practices at the individual, community, school, and health facility levels often present major barriers to adolescents seeking services.

This project aims to increase access to needed contraceptive services by adolescents in Nigeria’s Ebonyi State. Specifically, the project is expected to strengthen the ability of adolescents to make reproductive health choices and of healthcare providers to give sexual reproductive health services to adolescents. An innovative, community-embedded approach will support adolescents and key adult members of their communities to develop initiatives that improve communication and strengthen relationships within families, with teachers and health service providers, and across communities. This will create an environment conducive to improving adolescent sexual reproductive health. Led by the Health Policy Research Group at the University of Nigeria Enugu Campus, the project will be implemented in six representative urban and rural local government areas across the state.

Decision-makers have prioritized the improvement of adolescent sexual reproductive health services, and the evidence from this project will inform scale-up dialogue and efforts across the state and beyond.