_Says Donor Targets Are Replacing Patient Safety and Urges Emergency Review_
The Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has expressed urgent concern over rising reports from Nigerian women experiencing medical complications linked to family planning methods, particularly implants and other modern contraceptives, calling for immediate reforms in patient centered care, complication management, and ethical standards in public health facilities across the country.
In a statement issued over the weekend, PeacePro Executive Director Abdulrazaq Hamzat said the organization has documented multiple complaints from women nationwide, most recently in North Central Nigeria, reporting symptoms including breast pain and swelling, abnormal bleeding, fatigue, hormonal imbalance, and blood pressure fluctuations.
PeacePro stressed that while family planning remains an important component of reproductive health, no intervention can be considered successful if women experiencing complications are unable to access timely care or feel discouraged from reporting symptoms.
“PeacePro supports voluntary and informed family planning. However, women’s safety, dignity, and autonomy must remain the foundation of every reproductive health intervention,” Hamzat stated.
“When women suffer preventable harm and are silenced in public hospitals, it deepens distrust in the state, increases household tension, and fuels resentment, all of which directly undermine peacebuilding and social stability.”
The organization reported that many cases have led to hospital admissions in private facilities lasting days, indicating serious medical consequences. PeacePro also raised concern that even after contraceptive implants are removed, pain and complications often persist for weeks and months, yet public facilities provide little or no structured follow-up care, forcing women to rely on private hospitals for ongoing treatment.
According to the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) analysis of 6,365 contraceptive discontinuation episodes, 15.2% of all respondents discontinued modern family planning because of perceived adverse effects/health concerns.
The same national survey shows that method discontinuation within 12 months occurred frequently and 37% of contraceptive use episodes were discontinued within 12 months, with about 24% of implant episodes discontinued due to side effects/health concerns.
Hamzat further explained that, clinical research on the Jadelle contraceptive implant in Nigerian women found that 31.1% developed irregular uterine bleeding by six months of use, and 16.6% became amenorrheic (ceased menstrual bleeding) by 12 months of use.
PeacePro also stated that, a facility level study at a Nigerian teaching hospital reported that among Jadelle users, 48.5% reported side effects, with menstrual irregularities (55%) and amenorrhea (24.4%) among the most common manifestations.
Additionally, a broader review of modern contraceptive discontinuation among sexually active married women in Nigeria showed 35.8% overall discontinuation, with injectables (25.2%) and implants/Norplant (22.4%) as leading methods discontinued and side effects/health concerns as a prominent reason in many cases.
Hamzat maintained that, these data illustrate real patterns of discontinuation and side effects in Nigeria, grounded in national surveys (NDHS) and peer reviewed clinical research on implants, not anecdotal claims.
PeacePro highlighted reports that women who request discontinuation of certain methods are sometimes faced with discouraging counseling, administrative delays, or fees for removal, practices that violate informed consent, reproductive autonomy, and patient centered care.
The organization warned that donor driven programs that emphasize targets without adequately prioritizing safety risk erosion of public trust in health systems, widening health inequalities, especially in rural areas and increased reliance on unsafe alternatives due to fear of side effects.
“Family planning must never become a numbers driven system,” Hamzat said. “It must remain a health driven system that respects women’s choices and protects their safety.”
PeacePro is calling on the Federal and State Ministries of Health, development partners, and implementing agencies to pause further aggressive family planning campaigns pending a comprehensive safety review.
The federal government should conduct a nationwide audit of family planning processes, patient follow-up, and complication management in all public facilities, establish an independent patient safety review body to assess how complications and discontinuation requests are handled, documented, and resolved, Guarantee barrier free discontinuation, including removal without unofficial fees, delays, or coercion and Strengthen reporting systems to ensure complications are systematically captured and addressed through evidence based policy.
“Any system that discourages reporting, delays discontinuation, or ignores complications is unacceptable and must be corrected immediately,” Hamzat concluded.
PeacePro emphasized that addressing these issues is not only a public health necessity but also a peacebuilding imperative, as preventable suffering and institutional neglect erode social trust and community stability.
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