Stockouts, provider bias deny women access to contraceptives -- Experts

 ... Jagun, Azege, Shokunbi urge journalists to expose barriers

 

Mrs. Yinka Shokunbi

Dr Alu Azege

Dr Moriam Jagun

By Admin

Nigeria’s contraceptive shelves may be stocked, but many women and girls still cannot obtain or freely use family planning services because of cost, stockouts, provider bias, stigma, misinformation and other barriers, reproductive health stakeholders have warned.

The Executive Director, Centre for Bridging Health Gaps, Dr Moriam Jagun, said Nigeria must stop equating the availability of contraceptive commodities with genuine access, urging journalists to investigate the barriers preventing women and young people from making informed reproductive choices.

Addressing members of the Network of Reproductive Health Journalists of Nigeria (NRHJN) during a forum to mark the 2026 World Contraception Day, held under the theme, “No Barriers, Just Choices: Contraceptive Access Now!”, Jagun said access went beyond having contraceptives physically available.

“Contraceptive availability is not the same as access, which has several dimensions, including financial, physical, social, cultural, religious and informational accessibility. We can have contraceptives in the country, or even sitting on the shelf in a facility, and still not have true access.”

Jagun identified provider bias as another major barrier, particularly when healthcare workers allow personal beliefs and values to influence the care they provide.

“The message to providers should be to inform and support, not make the decision for the client. Success is not simply how many women accept contraception. We should ask whether she was informed, had options, chose freely and can change or discontinue the method if she wishes,” she said.

She warned that national figures could mask inequalities affecting rural women, adolescents, women with disabilities and other underserved groups.

“Universal access will not happen accidentally, we have to deliberately design services for those most likely to be left behind,” she said.

Supporting the call for greater scrutiny, the Executive Director of the Media Health and Rights Initiative of Nigeria, Mrs. Alu Azege, described Nigeria’s contraceptive challenge as a delivery problem, not a demand problem.

Azege who urged journalists to investigate stockouts, funding, procurement and provider practices instead of simply reporting official policies and programmes, said “Nigeria’s unmet need is not a demand problem. Nigerians need it, we are demanding it. It’s a delivery problem. Access isn’t delivered just by hashtags, it’s delivered by procurement budgets and providers doing their jobs, and also exposed when they don’t.”

She challenged journalists to investigate whether pregnancies are planned and wanted, arguing that unintended pregnancies should prompt questions about gaps in the health system.

“Intention is what turns childbearing from a risk into a choice. Ask three basic questions: The method I want, is it in stock? Is it affordable? Is it from a provider who serves instead of lectures?”

Earlier, the President of the NRHJN, Mrs Oluyinka Shokunbi, said Nigerian women and girls needed unhindered access to contraceptive choices, warning that cultural, religious and information barriers continued to limit their ability to decide if, when and how often to have children.

“More than ever before, Nigerian women need the power to make contraceptive choices, and they need it now,” she said, noting that the falling age of sexual debut had increased the urgency of providing young people with accurate sexual and reproductive health information, particularly as many parents remained reluctant to discuss sexuality with their children.

She expressed concern that contraceptive access is critical not only for preventing unintended pregnancies but also for improving health and advancing gender equality by enabling women and girls to pursue education, careers and wider participation in society.