Nigeria’s efforts to reduce maternal deaths must address both the complications that arise during pregnancy and childbirth and the unintended pregnancies that can be prevented through quality family planning services.

According to FP2030 estimates, modern contraceptive use in Nigeria prevented approximately 2.66 million unintended pregnancies and averted an estimated 19,000 maternal deaths in 2024.

Yet access to contraceptives remains limited. The 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey found that only 15% of currently married women aged 15–49 used a modern contraceptive method, while 21% had an unmet need for family planning. These figures point to a gap between women’s reproductive intentions and their ability to access the services they need.

In partnership with Organon, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), FP2030 and Pathfinder International, Nigeria Health Watch convened a webinar themed “Family Planning as a Pathway for Maternal Mortality Reduction” in the lead-up to the 11th Nigeria Health Watch Future of Health Conference.

Opening the discussion, Dr Adachi Eke, Director of Strategy and New Business at Nigeria Health Watch, emphasised the need to translate existing evidence into measurable improvements in women’s health. “The gap is not in the evidence; it’s in how we turn that evidence into results for more women,” she said.

Achieving this shift requires integrating family planning into existing maternal health interventions, particularly the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation and Initiative (MAMII), which requires moving beyond contraceptive uptake to addressing the interconnected health system and sociocultural barriers that limit women’s access to accurate information, preferred contraceptive methods and quality reproductive healthcare.

Other challenges such as commodity stockouts, service costs, limited provider capacity, misinformation and restrictive social norms also continue to influence women’s ability to make informed reproductive choices.

Integrating family planning into essential health services

For Dr Samuel Oyeniyi, Director and Head of the Reproductive Health Division at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, progress depends on moving from parallel programme implementation towards integrating family planning into essential health services.

He argued that Nigeria needs to focus not only on expanding contraceptive use, but also on how services are organised and delivered to improve maternal health outcomes.

The World Health Organization (WHO)’s 2025 practical guide on post-pregnancy family planning similarly emphasises the importance of leadership, service delivery, workforce capacity, reliable supplies, information systems and financing in expanding access.

Bringing family planning closer to women and communities

MAMII provides an opportunity to embed family planning across community engagement, facility readiness and maternal health service delivery.

Dr Dayo Adeyanju, National Coordinator of MAMII, stressed that preventing unintended pregnancies must be part of the country’s strategy to reduce maternal deaths. “The best way to prevent maternal death is to make sure that the women are not pregnant, and if ever they are pregnant, it is intended and wanted,” he stated.

Community engagement must also be supported by trained providers, reliable supplies and functional facilities capable of responding to referrals. Dr Amina Dorayi, Nigeria’s Director and Regional Portfolio Director at Pathfinder International, reinforced the need to make family planning central to maternal health planning.

“If Nigeria is really serious about reducing maternal mortality, family planning must move from the margins of reproductive health programming to really become the centre of our maternal health strategy,”she explained

Pathfinder’s experience with group antenatal care in Borno State demonstrates the potential of integrated service delivery. The approach reached more than 17,000 pregnant women during its first seven months and increased first-trimester antenatal care uptake across the state by 28%. Integrating family planning into such platforms can create opportunities for women to receive information and support alongside other essential services.

Turning integration into sustained results

Despite growing recognition of family planning’s contribution to maternal survival, fragmented planning, inadequate financing and weak implementation continue to constrain progress.

Dr Alain Damiba, Managing Director of FP2030’s North, West and Central Africa Regional Hub, explained that preventive interventions can receive less attention than emergency care because their impact is not visible, “a life-threatening pregnancy prevented through family planning is very hard to see, and therefore it is easier to overlook when we allocate resources.”

The challenge now is to translate policy commitments into consistent services. Family planning must be reflected in implementation plans, budgets, commodity procurement, health insurance arrangements and accountability mechanisms.

Dr Ummuul-khulthum Bajoga, Family Planning and Reproductive Health Commodity Security Specialist at UNFPA Nigeria, called for stronger government leadership and domestic resource mobilisation to sustain family planning programmes. She highlighted the importance of tracking budget allocations, releases, and expenditure, as well as strengthening national procurement, supply chain, and data systems.

To advance discussions on integrating family planning into Nigeria’s maternal mortality reduction efforts, Organon and MSI Reproductive Choices co-hosted a side event during the 2026 Future of Health Conference in Abuja, exploring how family planning could be incorporated into MAMII’s six strategies.