NIGERIA FAMILY PLANNING BLUEPRINT (SCALE-UP PLAN)

Abstract

Family planning (FP) is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent maternal, infant, and child mortality. It can reduce maternal mortality by reducing the number of unintended pregnancies, the number of abortions, and the proportion of births at high risk. 1 It has been estimated that meeting women’s need for modern contraceptives would prevent about one-quarter to one-third of all maternal deaths, saving 140,000 to 150,000 lives per year. 2 Family planning offers a host of additional health, social, and economic benefits; it can help slow the spread of HIV, promote gender equality, reduce poverty, accelerate socioeconomic development, and protect the environment. This Nigeria Family Planning Blueprint (Scale-Up Plan), hereafter referred to as the “Blueprint,” evolved from the commitments made at the London Summit; it provides a roadmap for achieving the FGON’s goals for improving access to family planning and reducing maternal mortality through a concerted national effort to scale up family planning over five years (2013‒2018).