Barriers and facilitators to accessing and utilising sexual and reproductive health services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Ensuring uninterrupted access and utilisation of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services remains crucial for preventing adverse SRH outcomes. However, the unprecedented emergence of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) significantly disrupted most of these services in Africa. Thus, we systematically reviewed and examined barriers and facilitators to accessing and utilising SRH services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa.

"You Need to be Able to Stand Up for What is Right": 's Transformative Impact on Youth Attitudes Toward Sexual Violence in Nigeria.

In Nigeria, approximately 10% of women of reproductive age report experiencing sexual violence in the past year, with potentially enduring health and social consequences. The effects can be especially severe for younger women and adolescents. utilizes an entertainment-education TV serial drama to promote gender equality and challenge norms around sexual violence.

Measurement and conceptualization of male involvement in family planning: a bibliometric analysis of Africa-based studies.

Background: Male involvement in Family Planning (FP) is an exercise of men's sexual and reproductive health rights. However, the measurement of male involvement has been highly inconsistent and too discretional in FP studies. As a result, we used bibliometric tools to analyze the existing measures of male involvement in FP and recommend modifications for standard measures.

University Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa: Exploring Best Practices.

Aims: Addressing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in educational settings across the globe, particularly in institutions of higher education, requires strong institutional framework and policy guidelines. Most research about university SGBV policies has focused on high-income countries with little or no recourse to universities in low- and middle-income countries. This policy analysis aims to analyze existing policies related to SGBV from select sub-Saharan African universities to provide guidance on best practices toward addressing SGBV at universities in Africa.

Health Providers' Response to Female Adolescent Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and Demand Side Barriers in the Utilization of Support Services in Urban Low-Income Communities of Nigeria.

Survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) are often hindered in their quest to access quality healthcare. This has a significant effect towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal SDG Target 3.7.

Subjective Wellbeing of Community Dwelling Older Adults in Nigeria.

Previous comparative international studies on wellbeing of older adults in Africa have presented figures based on indicators which tend to obscure the variations in terms of wellbeing among the older adults in a particular country. This paper examined the subjective dimension of quality of life of community dwelling elders in Nigeria. It identified factors related to different levels of subjective wellbeing in different parts of the country and among different socio-economic groups.

Perceived health facility-related barriers and post-abortion care-seeking intention among women of reproductive age in Osun state, Nigeria.

Background: Post-abortion care (PAC) prevents death and complications caused by unsafe abortion which is widespread in Nigeria. Yet, there is sparse community-based evidence on women's intention to seek PAC should they have an abortion. This study examined the influence of perceived health facility-related barriers (HFRB) on post-abortion care-seeking intention (PACSI) among women of reproductive ages in Osun state, Nigeria.

Quality of information offered to women by drug sellers providing medical abortion in Nigeria: Evidence from providers and their clients.

Background: Evidence confirmed that the demand for medical abortion (MA) increased significantly during the COVID-19 outbreak in many developing countries including Nigeria. In an abortion-restrictive setting like Nigeria, local pharmacies, and proprietary patent medicine vendors (PPMVs) continue to play a major role in the provision of MA including misoprostol. There is the need to understand these providers' knowledge about the use of misoprostol for abortion and the quality of information they provide to their clients.

Complementary support in later life: investigating the gender disparities in patterns and determinants among older adults in South-Western Nigeria.

Old-age needs are multifaceted and require multiple support sources, yet caregiving roles for older Nigerians are largely shifted to adult children. However, the children also declining capacity to respond. The extent to which older adults access support from other sources remains under-researched.

Socioeconomic inequalities and family planning utilization among female adolescents in urban slums in Nigeria.

Background/statement Of Problem: Family planning (FP) utilization is important for preventing unwanted pregnancy and achieving optimal reproductive health. However, the modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) among women of childbearing age is still low in many low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), particularly in Nigeria, despite interventions to increase access and utilization. The low mCPR has been associated with a high prevalence of unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion, sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS, and high maternal and infant mortality in LMIC.

Exposure to job-related violence among young female sex workers in urban slums of Southwest Nigeria.

Background: In Nigeria, many young girls are engaged in commercial sex work as a means of livelihood and support of dependent relatives. Although studies have documented some of the violence related issues among commercial sex workers, the plight of adolescent and young sex workers particularly in urban slums may be different in context and depth.

Objective: This study explored the lived experiences of violence and health related harm among vulnerable young female sex workers in urban slums in Ibadan and Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

Family context and individual characteristics in antenatal care utilization among adolescent childbearing mothers in urban slums in Nigeria.

Introduction: Adolescent pregnancy contributes significantly to the high maternal mortality in Nigeria. Research evidence from developing countries consistently underscores Antenatal Care (ANC) among childbearing adolescents as important to reducing high maternal mortality. However, more than half of pregnant adolescents in Nigeria do not attend ANC.

Women Deprivation Index and Family Planning Utilisation in Urban Geography of West African Countries.

Inequalities in health care utilisation and outcomes vary significantly across geographies. Though available evidence suggests disparity in contraceptive uptake in favour of urban compared with rural geographies, there are unassessed nuances among women in urban communities. This study examines some of these disparities within the context of socioeconomic deprivations and family planning utilisation among urban women in West Africa.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Literacy, Misoprostol Knowledge and Use of Medication Abortion in Lagos State, Nigeria: A Mixed Methods Study.

Little is known about the link between health literacy and women's ability to safely and successfully use misoprostol to self-induce an abortion. While abortion is only allowed to save a woman's life in Nigeria, misoprostol is widely available from drug sellers. We interviewed 394 women in 2018 in Lagos State, Nigeria, who induced abortion using misoprostol obtained from a drug seller to determine their sexual and reproductive health literacy (SRHL) and misoprostol knowledge levels; and how these were associated with ending the pregnancy successfully or seeking care for (perceived) complications.

Women's self-reported experiences using misoprostol obtained from drug sellers: a prospective cohort study in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the safety and effectiveness of self-managed misoprostol abortions obtained outside of the formal health system in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Design: This was a prospective cohort study among women using misoprostol-containing medications purchased from drug sellers. Three telephone-administered surveys were conducted over 1 month.

Partner Discussion as a Mediator of the Effects of Mass Media Exposure to FP on Contraceptive Use among Young Nigerians: Evidence from 3 Urban Cities.

Evidence suggests that despite high knowledge of family planning (FP), unwanted pregnancies and birth rates remain high among young Nigerians. There is a critical gap in understanding the nexus between exposure to FP information and contraception practices among this population. This study aimed to fill this gap and tested a pathway of the impact of media exposure to FP messages on modern contraceptive use.

Child's Risk Attributes at Birth and Infant Mortality Disparities in Nigeria.

Births in avoidable high-risk contexts defined by the interplay of sub-optimal childbearing age, short spacing, and first and high birth order incur elevated risks of childhood death. However, the extent of disparities in risks of dying in infancy vis-à-vis the continuum of non-high-risk and (un)avoidable high-risk attributes at birth as determined by mother's age at childbirth, child spacing, and birth order characteristics is yet to be adequately explored in Nigeria as elsewhere. To fill this gap, chi-square association test and Cox's proportional hazards regression were used to analyze data of 31,260 nationally representative children aged 0-59 months drawn from 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey.

Service readiness, health facility management practices, and delivery care utilization in five states of Nigeria: a cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Existing studies of delivery care in Nigeria have identified socioeconomic and cultural factors as the primary determinants of health facility delivery. However, no study has investigated the association between supply-side factors and health facility delivery. Our study analyzed the role of supply-side factors, particularly health facility readiness and management practices for provision of quality maternal health services.

Diarrhea management in children under five in sub-Saharan Africa: does the source of care matter? A Countdown analysis.

Background: Diarrhea remains a high burden disease, responsible for nine percent of deaths in children under five globally. We analyzed diarrhea management practices in young children and their association with the source of care.

Methods: We used Demographic and Health Survey data from 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa with high burdens of childhood diarrhea.

Quality of Spousal Relationship on Procurement of Abortion in Peri-Urban Nigeria.

The quality of spousal relationship may influence the acceptance of the status of pregnancies and the decision to procure abortion; however, this relationship has largely been unexplored. The objective of this paper is to assess the influence of specific dimensions of relationship quality on abortion procurement. Data from the 2010 Family Health and Wealth Survey site were used to assess the association between relationship quality and induced abortion among 763 ever-pregnant married or cohabiting women in Ipetumodu, South-west Nigeria.

Contraceptive use and distribution of high-risk births in Nigeria: a sub-national analysis.

Background: Family planning expansion has been identified as an impetus to harnessing Nigeria's demographic dividend. However, there is a need for data to address pockets of inequality and to better understand cultural and social factors affecting contraceptive use and health benefits. This paper contributes to addressing these needs by providing evidence on the trends and sub-national patterns of modern contraceptive prevalence in Nigeria and the association between contraceptive use and high-risk births in Nigeria.

Patterns and trends of contraceptive use among sexually active adolescents in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Nigeria: evidence from cross-sectional studies.

Background: The benefits of universal access to voluntary contraception have been widely documented in terms of maternal and newborn survival, women's empowerment, and human capital. Given population dynamics, the choices and opportunities adolescents have in terms of access to sexual and reproductive health information and services could significantly affect the burden of diseases and nations' human capital.

Objectives: The objectives of this paper are to assess the patterns and trends of modern contraception use among sexually active adolescents by socio-economic characteristics and by birth spacing and parity; to explore predictors of use of modern contraception in relation to the health system; and to discuss implications of the findings for family planning policy and programmes.

Trends and patterns of modern contraceptive use and relationships with high-risk births and child mortality in Burkina Faso.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, few studies have stressed the importance of spatial heterogeneity analysis in modern contraceptive use and the relationships with high-risk births.

Objective: This paper aims to analyse the association between modern contraceptive use, distribution of birth risk, and under-five child mortality at both national and regional levels in Burkina Faso.

Design: The last three Demographic and Health Surveys - conducted in Burkina Faso in 1998, 2003, and 2010 - enabled descriptions of differentials, trends, and associations between modern contraceptive use, total fertility rates (TFR), and factors associated with high-risk births and under-five child mortality.

Trends in contraceptive use and distribution of births with demographic risk factors in Ethiopia: a sub-national analysis.

Background: Evidence shows that family planning contributes to the decline in child mortality by decreasing the proportions of births that are considered high risk. The main objective of the present analysis was to examine the trends in use of modern contraceptives and their relationship with total fertility rate (TFR) and distribution of births by demographic risk factors as defined by mother's age, birth interval, and birth order at the sub-national level in Ethiopia.

Design: Analyses used data from three Demographic and Health Surveys in Ethiopia (2000, 2005, and 2011), which are nationally representative data collected through questionnaire-based interviews from women 15-49 using a stratified, two-stage cluster sampling.