Improving maternal health through better contraception

Despite the high publicity created on the use of contraception as a way of controlling births and unwanted pregnancies, many Nigerian women are still restricted from using this method due to cultural and religious beliefs amongst other reasons Nigeria’s population currently stands at 172 million people, representing 6% of the world population and is set to grow further, despite widespread poverty, hunger and high rates of illiteracy. There is a growing knowledge about contraception in the country, yet the percentage of women who need, but cannot access, contraceptives remains high as a result of several factors including cultural beliefs, religious inclinations and perceived side effects of contraceptives. This has contributed to rising number of unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and invariably, a high rate of maternal and child mortality. As the global community talks about the SDGs and strategies towards implementing #SDG 3, participants who proffered best-practice solutions noted that an estimated 225 million women worldwide have an unmet need for contraception. However, community based health insurance schemes are a pro–poor strategy to increase access and uptake of contraceptives. #MaternalMonday, the popular weekly information campaign established by Her Excellency Toyin Saraki’s Wellbeing Foundation Africa seeks to empower midwives, mothers and their newborns through demand creation for birth-preparedness, reducing the scourge of preventable maternal newborn and child mortality. Mrs. Saraki, the Newborn Champion for Save the Children Nigeria, also serves as Global Goodwill Ambassador to the International Confederation of Midwives.