The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #71016

Tamara Fetters, MPH, Research and Evaluation Unit, Ipas, 300 Market St, Ste 200, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, 919-960-5629, fetterst@ipas.org and Ejike Oji, MD, Country Director, Ipas Nigeria, Katsina House, Abuja, Nigeria.

Kano is Nigeria’s second most populous state and is considered to be the economic center of Northern Nigeria. A network of 25 public hospitals provide free maternal healthcare to Kano residents. In late 2002 an assessment of postabortion care (PAC) services was conducted in these facilities. All 25 facilities were included in this assessment to examine the infrastructure and equipment, inventory of services, staff training and capacity and review of PAC service statistics. This presentation reports on key findings about the availability and delivery of postabortion contraceptive services.

After a multi-year state training program in PAC numerous technical and quality improvements have been achieved but findings on postabortion family planning (PAFP) remain weak. Only one-quarter of providers in these facilities stated that their staff frequently provided contraceptive services to PAC clients and contraceptive methods were available in only two of the PAC treatment areas. Most facilities referred clients to another unit to access a limited range of contraceptives, only three methods were “usually” available in over 50% of these SDPs. Only 20% of all facilities had condoms. Interviewers observed that some providers had started to sell socially marketed commodities to meet client demand for contraceptives. Providers in these health facilities report more stock-outs and shortages of contraceptive supplies compromising previous gains in PAFP and doing little to decrease the probability of repeat abortion. In response to these data new efforts are being made to improve the range and supply of contraceptive methods being provided in PAC wards throughout the state.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants should be able to describe the challenging aspects of contraceptive logistics in an increasingly conservative area of Nigeria.
• Participants will be able to discuss the positive and negative factors that have contributed to the successes and trials of a state-wide vertical training program.

Keywords: Post-Abortion Care,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.