Evaluation of the Nigeria family health services project (covering April 1988 to December 1989)

External evaluation covers the period 4/88-12/89. It is too early to assess the project's impact, since the management information system is not operational and family planning (FP) statistics collected so far are unreliable. However, there is evidence that the number of new acceptors has gone from about 96,000 in 1985 to over 400,000 in 1988. Project progress is clearly indicated by the initiation of subprojects in 16 states and the signing of 104 subcontracts with Nigerian institutions. Specific achievements include, inter alia, equipping and staffing 107 public health facilities for clinical and non-clinical FP services; training 250 private nurse/midwives in FP services (including IUD insertions); distribution of FP commodities through 3,500 private commercial outlets; initiation of four statewide IEC campaigns; production of an album and music video by Sunny Ade and Onyeka Onwenu promoting FP; and development of a module for the Federal Office of Statistics' upcoming national household survey. Several issues merit attention. (1) Although the project's contraceptive prevalence goal of 12% will likely be achieved, the project has far to go to establish a well-coordinated FP program. (2) Because the various project components were designed to be largely independent of each other, special efforts will have to be made to reduce the potential for duplication and inefficiencies and to improve the coordination among contractors and components. (3) Progress in the pivotal private sector component has been slow. While private companies are participating in contraceptive distribution, plans for commercial marketing and advertising are still in preliminary form. Moreover, the strategy being employed in some service delivery activities with private providers is not sustainable.