DMPA-SC: A GUIDE FOR TRAINERS OF INJECTION-EXPERIENCED PROVIDERS
Act · Health
Guidelines offer training for health workers experienced in injections to safely administer DMPA-SC, a subcutaneous contraceptive. They target nurses and community health workers in rural areas. This expands access to family planning services.
DMPA-SC: A GUIDE FOR TRAINERS OF INJECTION-EXPERIENCED PROVIDERS
What Is This Policy?
A practical training guide for health workers who are already experienced in giving injections, providing them with the additional skills needed to administer DMPA-SC (subcutaneous injectable contraceptive, Sayana Press) safely.
Who Does It Target?
Nurses and community health workers already trained in injections Primary health care workers in rural areas NPHCDA and state family planning trainers Women seeking injectable contraception
What Does It Aim to Achieve?
Rapidly expand access to injectable contraception in underserved areas by training injection-experienced community health workers to administer DMPA-SC, a self-administered subcutaneous contraceptive.
Key Features
Competency-Based Training: Trains experienced injectors on DMPA-SC administration technique, which differs from intramuscular DMPA. Self-Injection: Includes guidance on training women to self-administer DMPA-SC for improved contraceptive continuation. Community Setting: Designed for use in low-resource, community settings where trained nurses may not be present. Scale-Up: Supports rapid scale-up of family planning access through task sharing to community health workers.
Current Status
Rollout Stage: Active — training ongoing across states Coverage: Primary health care and community health workers Beneficiaries: Women seeking family planning; rural communities Funding: USAID; Gates Foundation
How to Access
CHWs: participate in state-organised DMPA-SC training Health facilities: request training through NPHCDA Women: DMPA-SC available at trained CHW locations after scale-up Application method: Training through NPHCDA or state family planning coordinators.
Important Terms
DMPA-SC allows self-injection which significantly improves continuation rates Health worker training must be followed by supervised practice before independent practice Cold chain is not required for DMPA-SC unlike many vaccines
Official Resources
Website: https://www.health.gov.ng Contact: Federal Ministry of Health — Family Planning Division
Legal Framework
Issued under the authority of the Federal Ministry of Health pursuant to the National Health Act 2014 and the National Reproductive Health Policy. The DMPA-SC contraceptive falls within the scope of the NAFDAC Act for pharmaceutical products. Aligns with WHO prequalification standards for DMPA-SC, the WHO Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use, and the National Reproductive Health Policy guidelines.