This abstract was presented by The Challenge Initiative (TCI) at the 6th Nigeria Family Planning Conference which happened in Abuja from December 7 - 11, 2020.

1. Using Existing Community Structures to
make Family Planning a Social Norm; A
Case Study of Communities in Bauchi State
Nigeria
Yakubu Usman Abubakar
Rabi Ekele, Munkail Titilola, Beeve Hua & Ribadu Mohammed
December 2020

2. Outline
•Background/Objective
•Mehodology
•Results
•Conclusion
1

3. Background
2
Bauchi state has the highest proportion of teenagers who have begun
childbearing,
The state has high fertility rate of 7.2
Low CPR with slight increase over the years (2.1% to 6.5% ) as shown
by NDHS2013 & 2018 respectively.
Poor knowledge about family planning constitute great barrier to
uptake.
The state requested support from TCI and other partners in trying to
improve its CPR and other MNCH outcomes

4. Methods
3
• TCI worked with the state to identify the existing community
structures in TCI supported LGAs.
• Community leaders
• Influential persons – Maianguwa, women leaders, etc
• Religious leders
• WDC/VDC chairmen
• Local drama groups
• They served as members of Quality Improvement Teams (except
drama group)

5. Methods
4
• The religious leaders advocated to other religious leaders on FP using
Islamic and Christian Perspectives
• They (save Drama groups) also serve as members of Quality
Improvement Teams with mandate of engaging and enrolling other
religious and community leaders.
• A community drama groups were oriented and thus staged dramas on
FP addressing local/peculiar ideational factors in an entertaining
manner

6. Results
5
• The religious personalities openly encourage their followers to use FP methods.
• Over 195 public statements about family planning have been made and aired in
various media outlets in the state, which made the target audience know that in
Islam and Christianity family planning permissible.
• The drama intervention politely informed the communities about the benefits of
FP and consequences of unplanned families.
• The uptake of family planning methods increased in Bauchi and Toro LGAs,
between June 2018 and May 2020, from 12,471 to 23,207 (86%) and from 5024
to 6990 (39%) respectively.
• Impressed with the development, some neighbouring communities request for
the dramas.

7. Conclusion
6
• Proper enlightenment and education through community structures
improved FP uptake significantly.
• Local drama groups reenforce FP messages through edutainment
targeting specific community ideational factors in practical and
acceptable ways that open discussion among families

8. 7