Marie Stopes Ladies are community-based healthcare providers who deliver services from door-to-door or their own homes to women within their communities. They have built up trust and goodwill within their communities and can offer services on credit to their clients thereby eliminating a major barrier to access to quality health services. The Marie Stopes Ladies channel is a game changer as over 65% of the population depends on these Proprietary and Patent Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) and Community Pharmacists (CPs) as their primary source of health care services. MS Ladies are mostly in rural areas and urban slums and have enormous potential for increasing access to FP services for young mothers and adolescents, who are currently heavy users of emergency contraception and are predisposed to unsafe practices. With adequate training and a regulatory framework in place, the MSL channel has the potential to serve up to one million adolescent girls nationwide.

MSI Nigeria mobile outreach teams go the last mile to deliver services in under-served communities, including rural, poor, and displaced communities, and those affected by climate change, expanding access at scale. MSION provides free, quality, and safe long-acting and permanent FP methods (LAPM) to rural communities across over 30 states in over 4,000 sites in the northern and southern parts of Nigeria. Using the infrastructure of public health centers, outreach teams increase contraceptive choices in these communities where the existing public and private health clinics struggle to meet the needs of women and men. By fine-tuning our outreach services, we have expanded access efficiently and cost-effectively. 

Private Sector Engagement is a service delivery approach used by MSI in which small, independent healthcare businesses are organized into quality-assured networks. MSI Nigeria has created a private sector provider network under the brand name to engage otherwise fragmented private providers to deliver high-quality SRH services that contribute to national public health goals. MSI Nigeria Private clinic network leverages accredited private healthcare providers to offer quality FP and SRH services to low and middle-income clients in rural and peri-urban areas with high unmet needs for Family Planning. In return for meeting MSI Nigeria’s quality of care and pricing requirements, private providers receive training at a fee in selected areas including family planning, client counseling, infection prevention, and PAC. Providers also benefit from ongoing quality audits and coaching. This includes having access to commodities and medical equipment Established in 2012, this network is improving access to high-quality FP services in the private sector in 15 states. 

MSI launched its brand of misoprostol in March 2012 to prevent and treat postpartum hemorrhage and PAC. MSI Nigeria builds capacity in the healthcare sector on the proper use of misoprostol through this channel, while ensuring availability of high-quality misoprostol through its brand.  MSI Nigeria has over 30 sales representatives and over 70% sales point coverage of the country. MSI Nigeria launched its emergency contraceptive pill (Back-Up), and three variants of male condoms (Fire Xtra® and Fire Xtacy® and in 2022 launched the Fire Xotica®).

MSI Nigeria is a trusted implementing partner of the Federal Ministry of Health (MoH). Under multiple projects, MSION is working closely with the government to streamline service providers’ training on long-acting and reversible contraception, clinical quality assurance, coaching, and mentoring to scale up services. Recognizing the importance of supervised practice for skills transfer, building provider confidence, and minimizing provider time away from the site, MSION is leading the reduction of classroom-based training times in favor of a comprehensive post-training on-site supportive supervision program. MSION was contracted to design the government’s new LARC training and supportive supervision manual for monitoring and quality assurance service delivery. 

MSI Nigeria has supported the expansion of service provider training and supportive supervision to over 3000 health facilities distributed across 35 states out of 37. Over 2.5 million clients have been served through these sites.

To ensure a continuum of care, MSI Nigeria’s service delivery channels are supplemented by a toll-free hotline for clients. The multilingual contact center agents receive extensive training to provide excellent customer service and advice on a variety of SRH topics. The training also includes sessions on how to talk to women about their concerns and misconceptions about FP and sexual reproductive health services, as well as how to follow up with clients to inquire about possible side effects and to make referrals to MSION service delivery points.

The contact center agents provide SRH information and advice in Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba languages. The contact center also acts as a safety net in the event of a post-procedure complication, with clients able to call for advice at any time before or after a service is delivered. Our social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Linkedln, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram) has increased client access to factual SRH information and referrals for quality service provision.

MSION employs community mobilizers to raise awareness and demand for MSI services in both urban and rural areas. We have a network of community-based mobilizers supported by over 60 “Social and Behaviour Change Communication Officers” trained in social mobilization, community engagement, and the dissemination of SRH information through various strategies including community talks and small group meetings.

They generate demand for the PSS and Outreach sites and refer clients to MSI Nigeria’s Private sector network and the center.