The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Lagos State government and GoMed Nigeria, a digital health platform, have launched a digital self-care initiative to improve access to reproductive health services for students.
According to a press release on Wednesday, the initiative will initially serve students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), providing access to free contraceptives and other sexual and reproductive health commodities.
The partners noted that the platform is aimed at addressing barriers such as cost, distance, stigma, misinformation and concerns about confidentiality, which often prevent young people from accessing reproductive health services.
According to them, these barriers contribute to unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, sexually transmitted infections and disruptions to education among young people.
A 2025 study titled: Factors Associated with Sexual and Reproductive Health Services Utilisation Among Female Students in a Nigerian Tertiary Institution, published in the African Journal of Stability and Development, also found that the utilisation of sexual and reproductive health services among female students remained low due to structural and behavioural factors, including stigma, financial constraints, long waiting times and concerns about confidentiality
