Recent Research Activities

Improved Reproductive Health In Nigeria (IRHN)

Key Programme activities and donor deliverables are:
• Improved quality of reproductive Health Services
• Strengthened enabling Environment
• Expanded demand for reproductive health services and products
• Increased access to reproductive health services, products and materials.

IRHIN Project Activities to Ensure Realisation of the Outputs:
i. Improved Quality of Reproductive Health Services: This activity focuses on improving the quality of clinic and community-based services through rehabilitation of clinics and training of service providers in selected local government areas of three focal states: Abia, Cross River, and Kaduna.

ii. Strengthened Enabling Environment Reproductive Health Services: IRHIN strives at strengthening the enabling environment for the delivery of reproductive health products and services through advocacy at national and community levels. This is targeted at key institutions such as faith-based and civil society organisations and media establishments and to address key areas of concern which include gender issues, cultural and religious barriers, policies that restrict the provision of services and those that discourage private sector investment in the delivery of reproductive health products and services.

iii. Expanded Demand for Improved Reproductive Health Products and Services: IRHIN combines mass communication with interpersonal communications to expand demand for reproductive health services and products through the development of communications campaigns that generate demand for family planning products and services. IRHIN analyses differences between users and non-users of contraceptives and identify key determinants of contraceptive use. These analysis are used to guide demand-creation activities and to develop messages that address those determinants that are most likely to result in increased use of family planning services and products.

iv. Increased Access to Reproductive Health Products, Services and Materials: IRHIN distributes oral contraceptives, injectables, intrauterine contraceptive devices and other commodities all over Nigeria through sixteen detailing agents (detailers) to address the problems of coverage and low provider knowledge as well as to improve physical access to reproductive health services and contraceptives. In addition, new products will be launched to increase choice. These are Jadelle (a brand of Implant), a new monthly injectable contraceptive, LifeStyles (mid – priced) Condom and Plana CycleBeads which are Standard Days Method of Child Spacing. This method will be particularly used by women, who due to religious reasons, will not like to use other hormonal or systemic methods.

Throughout the life of the project, IRHIN will obtain coverage data for access to RH products using Population Service International’s state of the art research methodologies that include Measuring Access and Performance (MAP) surveys to drive decisions on detailer deployment and level of effort.

IRHIN Implementing Partners are Society for Family Health (SFH), Pathfinder International and Population Services International (PSI)