Group Calls For Pause In Family Planning Campaign

The Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has expressed concern over rising reports from Nigerian women experiencing medical complications linked to family planning methods, particularly implants and other modern contraceptives.

The group, therefore, called for immediate reforms in patient-centred care, complication management, and ethical standards in public health facilities across the country.

The executive director of Peace Pro, Abdulrazaq Hamzat said the organisation has documented multiple complaints from women nationwide, most recently in the north central, reporting symptoms including breast pain and swelling, abnormal bleeding, fatigue, hormonal imbalance, and blood pressure fluctuations.

He stressed that while family planning remains an important component of reproductive health, no intervention could 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.

“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,” he said.

Hazmat added that many cases have led to hospital admissions in private facilities,  indicating serious medical consequences.

He also raised concern that even after contraceptive implants were 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.”

He  highlighted reports that women who requested discontinuation of certain methods were sometimes faced with discouraging counseling, administrative delays, or fees for removal.

“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,” Hazmat said.