SWIFT Empowers Female Contraceptives Vendors for Improved FP Services in Nigeria

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The Society for Family Health (SFH), Nigeria’s leading health nonprofit, in collaboration with the Gates Foundation and the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), has launched the Supporting Women’s Increased Access to Family Planning through Pharmacies and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (SWIFT) project.

This SWIFT Project, which aims to improve access to family planning, reduce maternal mortality, and empower women economically across Kano, Kaduna, and Lagos states, was launched Tuesday in Kano at an event that also featured the project’s stakeholders’ inception meeting.

The SWIFT project is premised on expanding access to Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARC) through Pharmacies, Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) by improving access to healthcare delivery, fostering entrepreneurship development, and facilitating access to micro-credit from financial institutions.

Beyond improving access to family planning SWIFT seeks to promote female-led entrepreneurship, foster financial independence, and contribute to social mobility and poverty reduction in Nigeria. This initiative underscores the role of women’s empowerment in employment and job creation and fostering sustainable development.

Mr Dayyabu Yusuf, Director for Health Systems Strengthening at SFH-Nigeria said the project was designed to address the country’s high maternal mortality rates which could be reduced by up to 40% with improved adoption of family planning.

Yusuf said although there were over 6,500 PPMVs in Kano only about 7% of these are female-owned which makes it difficult for women to seek family planning services from male providers. Accordingly, SWIFT aims to establish 400 new female PPMVs in high-mortality communities to provide accessible family planning options to women who face geographical or financial barriers to services.

“SWIFT works with the Schools of Health Technology and the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria to train PPMVs in providing long-acting contraception. After certification, these vendors will receive essential commodities, business development support, and access to tailored loan packages from partnering banks to grow their businesses sustainably. A vendor-managed inventory system will streamline the delivery of contraceptives directly to PPMVs,” Yusuf said.

In his remarks, Pharmacist Amin Bashir, Permanent Secretary at the Kano State Ministry of Health, expressed the Kano State Government’s support for the SWIFT project, underscoring the importance of empowering women to provide family planning services to their fellow womenfolk. He emphasized the need for a multi-sectoral approach to combat the state’s high maternal mortality rates.

“We recognize the high burden of maternal mortality in Kano, and to address this, we need collaboration across various sectors. The SWIFT project provides a valuable opportunity to bring these sectors together to tackle the issue. By training more female healthcare providers, we can improve service delivery and ultimately reduce maternal mortality,” the Permanent Secretary said.

Pharmacist Kamilu Salisu, Director of Pharmaceutical Services at the Kano State Ministry of Health, stressed the urgency of the SWIFT project in addressing Kano’s high maternal mortality rates, which are the highest in Nigeria, noting that Kano women are more comfortable seeking family planning services from female service providers.

“This program is timely and crucial for reducing maternal mortality, family planning is one of the most effective strategies to address maternal mortality, therefore increasing access to these services is vital. Women often feel shy discussing their needs with male Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) or Community Pharmacists (CPs). By increasing the number of female providers, we can improve access and reduce this barrier,” he explained.

The SWIFT project is designed to support the creation of 400 female PPMVs and CPs through soft loans in a bid to expand access to FP services and create a sustainable model for reducing maternal mortality in Kano. The project aims to benefit 1,325 PPMVs in the North West region with a long-term goal of involving all 7,000 PPMVs in Kano alone.

By combining health services with entrepreneurship, SWIFT hopes to transform the health sector into a sustainable industry in alignment with Nigeria’s vision of reducing maternal mortality and improving healthcare delivery in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).