Lafiya Sisters Expand Contraceptive Access for Women in Hard-to-Reach Jigawa Communities

Originally posted on Nigeria Health Watch by Mahdi Garba

Ikhlas Yusuf Yaqub, a full-time midwife at Dutse General Hospital, still finds time to volunteer with Lafiya, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) working to increase the uptake of family planning commodities in Jigawa State to reduce maternal mortality.

Since 2022, she has been a member of the Lafiya Sisters, a group of like-minded female health workers advocating for women’s access to Medroxyprogesterone Acetate, commonly known as Sayana Press, a self-injectable contraceptive. Through the NGO, the group consisting of 43 trained nurses, midwives and Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) serve as last-mile delivery agents for contraceptives across the state. (…)

Murja Yawale, 27, another Sayana Press user, recalled that since she heard about the family planning commodity from one of the Lafiya Sisters, she has been using it for four years. “So far, I can say that this is a positive change for me. I enjoy using Sayana,” the mother of four noted. “I want to call on other women to use it too. It is taken to any house where a woman expresses her interest. They will teach you, administer the first one for you, and give you the rest to continue using it,” Yawale added.

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