Introduction: In Nigeria, Contraceptive prevalence is 17% with limitations against adolescent uptake of Family Planning (FP) methods. Despite the training of multicadre providers on youth-friendly services, the number of young people receiving services at the health facilities in Lagos and Kano are still quite low. One of the strategies to address this challenge is to encourage visibility and enhance whole-site orientation for all facility staff. This study examined the effect of increased visibility of Adolescent Youth Friendly Health Services (AYFHS) on increasing FP uptake among adolescents.
Methods: Facilities were selected through purposive sampling methods from four LGAs in Lagos and Kano States, to participate in a pilot. Monthly data was tracked from the health facility register and desk review was done to observe the uptake trends across the health facilities that received FP green dot logo (FPGDL) and AYFHS banner between May-August 2022.
Results: Eighteen facilities were branded with the FPGDL and AYFHS banner. Of these, fourteen recorded increased client flow for counselling (FP, GBV and Substance abuse) and FP services; from 359 pre-branding to 416 adolescents after the branding. In addition to the branding, sampled facilities also conducted targeted mobilization, which led to over 80% increase in adolescents visiting the facilities for FP information and services in just four months, from May 2022 (67 FP users) to August 2022 (223 FP users).
Conclusion/Lessons: Creating awareness of modern FP methods availability with the aid of FP Green Dot and AYFHS banners installed within and outside the health facilities significantly increases client flow and uptake of FP methods among adolescents.
Keywords: Adolescents, youth friendly services, family planning, health facility.
