Federal Government Partners Self-Care Accelerator Projection and CODSAIN on Self Care Intervention for health

The federal government's quest to enhance its health system with self-care for sexual, reproductive and maternal health and rights has been boosted with the launch of two safe self-care and injection acceleration projects.

The projects, Self-Care Accelerator Project (S-CAP) and Community-Oriented DMPA-SC/Self-Injection Acceleration in Nigeria (CODSAIN) Project, are being funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have implementation period from December 2022 to November 2023 and 2023 to 2026, respectively.

While John Snow Incorporated (JSI) is the implementing partner for Self-Care Accelerator Project (S-CAP); Association for Reproductive and Family Health is implementing CODSAiN.

The initiatives are targeted at safe self-administration of some medicines, self-diagnosis and improvement in health awareness and literacy in the country.

Giving an overview of the Self-Care Accelerator Project (S-CAP) at the launch of the projects in Abuja,Dr Adewole Adefalu, Country Coordinator John Snow incorporated, explained that,”Self-care will empower women and men, families, and communities to carry out effective health actions, with or without support from health care providers.”

He recalled that:”Nigeria was one of the first countries to adapt the WHO’s Consolidated Guideline on Self-Care Interventions for Health: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights which provides a people-centered, evidence-based normative guidance to support individuals, communities and countries with quality health services and self-care interventions. “

“In 2021, the Federal Ministry of Health developed the National Guideline on Self-Care for Sexual, Reproductive and Maternal Health, which provides national direction on the integration of Self-care interventions for SRMH into the Nigerian health system as well as its implementation

” Since then, there have been concerted efforts to disseminate the National Guideline and Self-Care Demand Generation Strategy while providing orientation at national and sub-national levels,”he said.

​Source: Vanguard