The federal government says it will soon provide rural women with family planning injections they can use on their own.

Junior health minister Olorunimbe Mamora announced that the ministry would soon introduce the Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate Subcutaneous Injection (DMPA-SC), allowing self-injection in hard to reach places.

Mr Mamora disclosed this at a meeting on the National Family Planning Media Campaign Launch in Abuja on Thursday.

He said, “This is the process of introducing scaling up of new family planning commodities to expand Nigeria’s Method Mix to allow for free choice. The product which has been formulated to allow for self-injection is considered a game-changer in Nigeria’s family planning landscape.

“It is indeed very useful for ensuring continuation subsequent doses in hard-to-reach areas as clients will be given some vials to take home after some training on its use.”

He added that family planning was an important intervention for promoting proper timing and spacing of pregnancies and assisting in achieving pregnancies where challenges existed.

“It also promotes maternal and child survival with a potential for reducing maternal and child mortality and morbidity by 30 per cent,” the junior minister said.

Mr Mamora noted that successful implementation was key to achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), disclosing that the ministry is collaborating with development partners to provide quality family planning information services to prevent unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.

“It is part of the government’s efforts to provide a roadmap for family planning implementation as well as proper coordination. The ministry revised the Nigeria Family Planning Blueprint (Scale Up Plan 2020-2024), which was developed in 2014 as a follow-up to the 2012 London Summit on Family Planning.

“The roadmap will provide guidance for stakeholders for implementation of family planning in Nigeria. This important document spells out six thematic areas and their cost implications,” he said.