The Society for Family Health (SFH) has launched the Supporting Women’s Increased Access to Family Planning through Pharmacies and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (SWIFT) project to reduce maternal mortality and promote women’s economic empowerment.
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The initiative, supported by the Gates Foundation, the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, and state governments, aims to improve healthcare delivery and enhance access to family planning services through pharmacies and medicine vendors.
Speaking at the SWIFT Project Stakeholders Inception Meeting in Kano, SFH’s Director of Health System Strengthening, Dayyabu Mahmoud-Yusuf, stated that the three-year project would be implemented in Kano, Kaduna, and Lagos States.
“The initiative aims to optimise Community Pharmacies (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) while empowering women-led businesses,” he said.
According to Mahmoud-Yusuf, the project will increase the availability of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARC) at pharmaceutical primary healthcare outlets and bridge the gender gap in healthcare services.
“In Kano State, 1,321 female community pharmacists and PPMVs will be trained in family planning and entrepreneurship, and SFH will support the establishment of 400 new female-led PPMVs,” he added.
He further noted that SFH would collaborate with the Kano State Government’s Lafiya Jari Programme to ensure that providers meet the accreditation standards of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN).
Kano State Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Labaran-Yusuf, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Kano Ministry of Health, Pharm. Aminu Bashir, stressed the importance of family planning in reducing maternal mortality.
He commended SFH for the initiative, saying, “Empowering women to provide family planning services will greatly improve service delivery.”
The Director of Pharmaceutical Services at the Kano Ministry of Health, Pharm. Kamilu Mudi-Salisu, described the project as timely, given that Kano has the highest maternal mortality rate in Nigeria.
Representatives from Lafiya Jari, NAFDAC, ALGON, NAPPMED, the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, and other stakeholders also attended the event, pledging their support through goodwill messages.
