Safe Motherhood begins with smart choices to celebrate gains in Family Planning across states

As the world commemorates Safe Motherhood Day 2025 under the theme “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,” Nigeria celebrates a quiet but powerful revolution safeguarding the lives of mothers and children: the rise in access to family planning (FP) and childbirth spacing services across the country.

At the heart of this progress is The Challenge Initiative (TCI) — a proven model that puts local governments in the driver’s seat to sustainably scale reproductive health solutions. In partnership with over a dozen state governments, TCI is making motherhood safer, families healthier, and futures brighter.

“Safe motherhood starts before the first contraction — it begins with informed choices, timely access to family planning, and a community that supports women at every step of their reproductive journey.  What we are seeing in Nigeria today is a bold move from awareness to action, from promises to programs that truly save lives.” says Dr. Taiwo Johnson, Country Team Lead, TCI Nigeria.

TCI was launched in 2017 to transition the gains of NURHI into a platform that empowers state governments to take ownership, scale up proven interventions, and drive impact across more states — with an expanded reach that now includes both urban and underserved rural areas.

Across Nigeria, states are translating family planning commitments into visible progress. Through government leadership, community engagement, youth-centred services, and strategic partnerships, there are growing signs of impact. Health facilities are experiencing increased client trust, local governments are mobilizing resources to reach more communities, and advocacy efforts are helping to reshape public perceptions—particularly through youth engagement, male involvement, and outreach to underserved populations. Even in complex humanitarian settings, family planning is being integrated with maternal health services, ensuring continuity of care.

Progress is not yet uniform, and gaps in access, quality, and equity persists. All implementing states must sustain momentum by strengthening service delivery, expanding access to marginalized groups, and addressing lingering myths and barriers. To truly fulfill the promise of reproductive health and rights for all, no one can be left behind. Continued investment, political will, and community-driven action are critical to ensuring that family planning services reach every woman, man, and young person who needs them—no matter where they live.

Every year, Nigeria loses thousands of women to pregnancy-related complications — many of which are preventable through proper spacing and voluntary family planning. TCI’s impact shows that when women have access to safe, affordable, and culturally appropriate FP services, maternal mortality drops, newborn outcomes improve, and families thrive.

“The path to safe motherhood is not just paved in hospitals. It starts with conversation, choice, and community support,” says Onche Odeh, Project lead at Development Communications Network.

As the 2025 theme emphasizes, “Healthy Beginnings” — like timely birth spacing — are key to unlocking “Hopeful Futures.” TCI’s support has proven that states can lead their own reproductive health transformations. With growing political will, sustainable funding, and grassroots engagement, Nigeria is closer than ever to making safe motherhood not just a goal — but a guarantee.

About Devcom: DevComs is a media-development, not-for-profit organization and a product of development projects on media. health promotion, advocacy, and capacity building in the context of science in the Nigerian and African media landscape.

About TCI: TCI is a global urban reproductive health initiative designed to support sub-national governments in achieving greater self-reliance in scaling up family planning (FP) and adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health (AYSRH) high-impact interventions. Our goal is to sustain improvements in urban health systems and increase the use of modern contraception.

TCI’s innovative approach ensures government leadership and government-driven programming to enhance the scale, impact, efficiency, and sustainability of FP programs.
The TCI program, funded by the Bill Gates Foundation (BMGF) and Bayer, is globally led by the William H. Gates Sr. Institute for Population and Reproductive Health and implemented in six regional hubs, including Nigeria, India, East Africa, Francophone West Africa, the Philippines, and Pakistan. In Nigeria, TCI is implemented by the Johns Hopkins University Centre for Communication Programs (JHUCCP) and has partnered with 22 states: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Borno, Delta, Edo, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, and Yobe since 2016.