Technology helping churches ‘get the word out' amid virus crisis

Komfot Health operates a technology-driven network providing post-abortion care and sexual reproductive health services across Nigeria. The organization trains healthcare providers to address biases, uses a chatbot system for patient triage and connects women to verified medical facilities in six states, acting as intermediaries between women seeking care and trusted healthcare providers. Since launching in 2024, Komfot Health has served over 1,790 women.

The Niger State Health Care Fund offers a voucher program that helps cover the cost of antenatal care and family planning services for women in rural areas and IDP camps. The voucher scheme, alongside community engagement programs and technological resources, has improved access to contraceptives and reproductive health services, but the state’s rate of contraceptive prevalence is still below the national average.

Thanks to Nigeria’s Self-Care Policy, residents can access free injectable contraceptives that can be administered without the support of health workers. Patients learn how to use the injectable during their first appointment at a health center and are then able to take up to a year of doses with them to administer independently each month at home. Since 2014, when the self-injectables were first introduced, the country’s rate of contraceptive prevalence has risen from 4% to 15%.

The Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council focuses on improving maternal health outcomes by providing reproductive health and family planning resources, including contraception and educational counseling, at clinics, local health facilities, and community organizations. Since 2010, the country’s maternal mortality rate has fallen and the rate of married women using modern contraceptives has reached 69%.

Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency partnered with The Challenge Initiative to train female community mobilizers and service providers across nine local government areas to provide family planning care. The providers use a trust-building approach, conducting house calls and leveraging social gatherings to gradually introduce family planning concepts. Since the group began, family planning uptake has surged from about 20% to 74%.

The Otuabagi Women Farmers Association's initiative to replant 7,200 raffia palm trees has not only begun restoring their oil-damaged swamp forest but also created a cooperative financial safety net for members and sparked community-wide conversations about environmental protection.

The Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council implemented a comprehensive national family planning program that offers integrated reproductive health services delivered through multiple channels including local clinics, mobile outreach units, community health workers, and youth-friendly centers. The program provides access to contraceptives, counseling, and peer education to address maternal mortality and unplanned pregnancy rates. Over the past decade, maternal mortality has dropped by 78%, and unintended pregnancies have also significantly decreased.

Health centers like Barjobi Health Center III offer youth and teens judgment and stigma-free sexual and reproductive healthcare services, as well as opportunities to connect with each other over games and activities. However, these youth-centric health centers are facing closures and significant budget cuts as the biggest funding provider, USAID, has phased out.

While locals wait for an anti-witchcraft bill to pass to provide protection for women against unproven accusations of witchcraft, several organizations are working to close “witch camps” and help women return home to their families. So far, these organizations’ combined efforts have led to the closure of two of the six camps in the northern part of the country.

The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) provides comprehensive survivor support services including legal aid, medical care, shelters, and prevention programs, successfully building public trust and securing 140+ convictions while reaching 6.3 million people through awareness campaigns, though significant gaps remain between the 8,692 reported cases and actual access to justice and support services.