A new report by Invictus Africa has revealed that only eight Nigerian states met the global benchmark for women’s participation in reproductive health decision-making, with Ebonyi State ranking among those with high unmet needs for family planning services.
The findings, presented at the 2025 Gatefield Health Summit in Abuja, assessed women’s involvement in sexual and reproductive health decisions, including contraceptive use and maternal care.
According to the Women’s Health Index, only a handful of states achieved the Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM) target of ensuring that at least 65% of women participate in decisions about their reproductive health.
Kebbi (2.5%), Sokoto (5.1%), and Niger (5.8%) recorded the lowest levels of women’s participation, while Cross River (30.3%), Ebonyi (29.2%), and Bayelsa (27.7%) had the highest levels of unmet need for family planning.
The report further noted that no Nigerian state has yet met the National Policy on Population (NPP) target of reducing unmet family planning needs to 10% by 2025 and 0% by 2030 among women aged 15–49.
Adenike Adeoye, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Lead at Invictus Africa, said prioritising women’s health is not only a social obligation but also an economic necessity.
“Prioritising women’s health is not only a moral duty — it’s smart economics,” Adeoye said.
Speakers at the summit also highlighted that a woman’s most productive years often coincide with her most vulnerable period, calling for stronger investment in maternal health, reproductive rights, and women’s leadership within policy and research sectors.
Experts further warned that Africa’s health systems face mounting challenges — from climate shocks and disease outbreaks to the rising burden of non-communicable diseases — stressing that empowering women is key to building resilient and inclusive health systems.
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