Background
The World Health Organisation had estimated that 21 million adolescent girls get pregnant every year in developing countries, and of this, 3.9 million of them would undergo an unsafe abortion. It is apparent that adolescents face a significant health risk if not specifically targeted by interventions that can empower them to maintain safe and healthy sexual lives. to this end, Marie targets adolescents with sexual and reproductive health services through multiple service delivery channels.
Materials and methods
Secondary data on family planning services provided by Marie Stopes Nigeria were obtained from the organisation's management information system. Analyses to show frequencies and trends for contraceptive uptake among adolescents in Nigeria were conducted.
Results
In 2021, 30% of all clients served by the Marie Stopes Nigeria Country Programme were adolescents. This adolescent reach was attributed to its Outreach and Marie Stopes Ladies (MS Ladies) operations: 35% of MS Ladies clients and 29% of Outreach clients were adolescents. Moreso, almost all (97%) of these girls lived in rural areas. On average, each "itinerant" (door-to-door) MS Lady provided services to 20 adolescents per month, whereas each "stationary" (PPMV) MS Lady served an average of 5 adolescents per month.
Conclusions
Contraceptive use among adolescent in Nigeria can be consolidated and scaled particularly in rural communities through the use of age estimation tool for clients who are unsure of their age, youth-friendly approach to counselling and service delivery. Word of mouth by satisified clients can raise, motivation and referrals among adolescents.
