Society for Family Health, Nigeria

06/08/2026

Health facilities and communities across all 17 LGAs in Abia State are set to see improved family planning uptake and stronger primary healthcare delivery, following a week of targeted technical assistance from the Society for Family Health (SFH) aimed at strengthening demand generation, evidence-informed planning, and standardised programme tools across the state.

The engagement opened with a review and validation of Transition Readiness scores submitted by each LGA, assessed across nine domains that measure how well local governance, leadership, and programme structures are positioned to sustain family planning ownership without donor funding. This was followed by validation of Abia State's adapted integrated health communication tool and referral forms, conducted under the Executive Secretary's guidance alongside NPHCDA, WHO, and MSI, with a focus on technical accuracy, clarity, cultural relevance, and readiness for finalisation. The tools span priority areas including antenatal and postnatal care, routine immunisation, maternal, newborn and child health, WASH, integrated management of childhood illness, family planning, self-care, neglected tropical diseases, HIV, hepatitis, HPV, and community-based surveillance.

A capacity-strengthening session for State and LGA Health Educators and Family Planning Supervisors followed, covering evidence-driven site selection, male engagement planning, community mobilisation, facility in-reaches, and stronger routine reporting through LGA collation summaries. Participants also reviewed LGA performance and aligned on practical strategies to boost uptake, particularly among new family planning users.
Agreed next steps include following up on government counterpart funding for commodities, coordinating LGA structures to support provider and commodity deployment during BHCPF integrated outreaches, completing post-training mentorship, rolling out quarterly male engagement and community mobilisation activities, and strengthening monthly LGA reporting.

At the core of this support is a straightforward goal: equipping state and LGA teams to translate technical guidance, standardised tools, and coordinated engagement into measurable gains in service uptake and primary healthcare outcomes.

04/08/2026

Vulnerable populations across Abia State stand to benefit from an intensified push on maternal and child health, following an advocacy visit by the Society for Family Health (SFH) and other partners to the state's First Lady, Her Excellency Mrs. Priscilla Chidinma Otti, to enlist her support for World Breastfeeding Week. The visit, led by the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Ogbonaiya Uche, the Executive Secretary of the Abia State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Kalu U. Kalu, and supported by the World Health Organization and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency positions the state to strengthen breastfeeding advocacy at a time when the global campaign is calling for more durable support systems for nursing mothers.

World Breastfeeding Week, marked annually from August 1–7 in over 170 countries under the coordination of the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, promotes exclusive breastfeeding as a foundation for infant survival and development. This year's observance carries the theme "Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works," which emphasizes strengthening the policies, healthcare services, and community support systems that help mothers breastfeed successfully and encourages governments and communities to build on proven initiatives that promote breastfeeding.

As a health champion, Her Excellency has endorsed the World Breastfeeding Day campaign and consistently promoted exclusive breastfeeding over the past two years. She has also backed National Immunization Plus Days against polio and measles, supported vulnerable groups including pregnant girls and young mothers rescued from illegal shelters, and facilitated free medical check-ups and welfare packages for senior citizens under state-level older persons' programmes.

SFH, represented by Michael Titus, thanked the First Lady, the Governor, the Abia State Ministry of Health, and the Primary Health Care Development Agency for a decade-long partnership. The organisation disclosed that with support from donors, it is implementing health interventions worth over ₦300 million in Abia State in 2026, aimed at reducing maternal mortality by scaling up family planning services across more than 300 health facilities in all LGAs, and cutting HIV/AIDS and hepatitis incidence, now reaching an average of 1,000 women of reproductive age monthly. SFH committed to further technical and advisory support in malaria, adolescent health, MNCH, family planning, HIV/AIDS, and WASH.

03/08/2026

Every SFH programme exists because of a person, not just a statistic, a mother pressing a health worker for help, a health educator who recognises the value of a jingle the moment he hears it, a young wife quietly rebuilding her plans for the future, a state coordinator learning a new digital tool so her LGA's data finally counts.

This edition of Beyond Boundaries: Our Impact turns the lens toward those people. It is a Community Voices edition, built entirely from stories generated by the RMNCAEH+N Programme Delivery Unit across four States.
Click here to read more: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/community-voices-people-whom-we-exist-6ka2e

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Four states. One programme delivery unit.

31/07/2026

Meet Our Speakers

Leading voices from government, regulatory institutions, professional associations and the development sector come together to explore how Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) can strengthen primary health care across Africa.

Join this distinguished panel as they share insights, evidence and practical solutions for advancing equitable, resilient and people-centred health systems at the Africa Primary Health Care Forum (APHCF) 2026.

30/07/2026

Join us at the Africa Primary Health Care Forum (APHCF) 2026 for a panel session on "Africa's Hidden Health Workforce: Integrating Community Pharmacists and PPMVs to Strengthen Primary Health Care."

The session will bring together policymakers, regulators and health experts to examine the vital role of Community Pharmacists (CPs), Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) and other community-based private providers in expanding access to quality primary health care.

The discussion will explore practical pathways for strengthening regulation, quality, referrals, digital integration and policy to build more equitable, resilient and people-centred health systems across Africa.

Date: Friday, 31 July 2026
Time: 8:00 AM
Venue: NAF Conference Centre, Abuja

30/07/2026

Self-care puts your health in your hands. 🙌 Know your status. Track your health. Take the small, informed steps that help you thrive because looking after yourself isn't a luxury, it's the foundation. Test today. Track always. Thrive every day.

28/07/2026

To mark World Hepatitis Day, we took to the streets of Oyo State to hear what people know and understand about viral hepatitis. Their responses highlight why awareness, early testing, and access to care remain so important.

In this video, we also addressed common misconceptions about viral hepatitis, and highlighted how SFH, government and partners are working to eliminate hepatitis in Nigeria through awareness, prevention, testing, and linkage to quality care.

Watch, learn, and join the conversation.

28/07/2026

This World Hepatitis Day, we join the global call to raise awareness about viral hepatitis and the importance of prevention, early testing, and access to treatment.

Let's break down stigma, misinformation, and barriers to care.

Know your status, protect your liver, and take action to help eliminate viral hepatitis.

Yes, we can break it down and eliminate hepatitis in Nigeria.

27/07/2026

Beyond the physical outreaches, SFH carried World Self-Care Day onto the airwaves, reaching an even larger audience through community radio programmes across Bauchi State, proof that self-care conversations can travel as far as the signal reaches.

In Katagum LGA, the DISC Support Team, with SFH's support, hosted a live phone-in radio programme on 23rd July at BRC Azare, aimed at increasing public awareness of self-care practices. Listeners called in with questions on what self-care truly means, whether self-injection is safe, who is eligible for self-care services, and whether self-care means abandoning health facility visits altogether. The team explained that self-care involves individuals taking informed action to maintain their health and manage minor conditions, that self-injection is safe when done correctly with proper guidance, and that self-care services should complement, never replace, regular facility visits. Women listeners were encouraged to seek reliable health information and stay in contact with healthcare providers.

In Jama'are LGA, a radio session featuring the Director of Primary Health Care, the LGA's Health Educator, and SFH's M&E Officer produced a striking result: every single caller was a man, each seeking information on where to access family planning services for themselves and their families, a strong signal of growing shared responsibility for health.

In Bishi, Bauchi, the First Level Health Commission and SFH, under the DISC 2.0 programme, delivered free health services to the community, reinforcing WHO's definition of self-care: the strength of individuals, families, and communities to prevent disease, maintain health, and build resilience, with or without professional assistance.

The momentum doesn't stop here this week; SFH takes World Self-Care Day celebrations to Katsina, Kaduna, and Taraba, with more communities set to test, track, and thrive

27/07/2026

This year's World Self-Care Day celebration saw Society for Family Health (SFH) reach over 2000 people through community outreaches across Nigerian states, bringing this year's theme "Self-Care puts your health in your hands: Test. Track. Thrive" to life in markets and communities.

In Adamawa State, SFH DISC, CARE 2 and GC7 Malaria partnered with the State Ministry of Health, ASPHCDA, and Shadalom Enterprise to bring health services to Jimeta Ultra-Modern Market, Yola North LGA. Of 612 attendees, 353 received outpatient consultations, 105 were screened for malaria, 65 for blood glucose, and 84 for HIV with counselling. 213 received condoms, and 46 accessed DMPA-SC family planning. Shadalom Enterprise also trained attendees on soap-making.

In Oyo State, SFH's DISC 2.0 team ran an integrated outreach drawing 135 women and 113 men, a sign that men are becoming more intentional about their own well-being. Mrs Folasade Olatunde of the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board described self-care as key to physical, mental, and social well-being, while SFH's Mrs Oluwabunmi Olajide said the outreach was designed to help people know their status and make informed decisions.

In Jigawa State, the Jigawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (JSPHCDA), with SFH through the DISC 2.0 and A360 Accelerate projects, marked the day at PHC Kudai, Dutse LGA, engaging healthcare workers, community members, and married adolescent girls (Matasa Matan Arewa). Hajiya Maimuna Sulaiman led education on hygiene and child spacing, while the SFH-A360 team facilitated sessions on adolescent health, self-care, and menstrual hygiene. Free sanitary pads were distributed to support the girls' dignity and well-being.

From market stalls to outreach tents to PHC compounds, SFH met people where they were, turning self-care into something communities could test, track, and act on.