Health
WHO expands recommended contraceptive options, backs longer-lasting methods
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended an expanded range of contraceptive options, including longer use of some existing methods, mifepristone for emergency contraception and the development of new contraceptives for men.
The recommendations are contained in a new publication, “WHO guidelines on expanding contraceptive options”, aimed at helping countries broaden access to contraceptive methods supported by available scientific evidence.
WHO said the expansion was necessary to give people more options when deciding whether to use contraception, which method to use, and when to change or stop a method.
The global health body estimates that 164 million women who want to delay or avoid pregnancy are not currently using contraception.
Longer use of existing methods
Under the new guidance, WHO recommends that combined oral contraceptive pills may be taken for extended periods of up to six months or continuously for up to one year, instead of the conventional cyclical use.
The organisation also supports the use of contraceptive implants for up to five years, saying this could reduce the frequency of replacement procedures, clinic visits and associated costs.
WHO also recommends mifepristone as an additional emergency contraceptive option.
It said mifepristone should be taken as soon as possible and within five days of unprotected sex.
According to the organisation, available evidence indicates that mifepristone at doses of 10 to 50 milligrams is likely to be as safe and effective as other emergency contraceptive methods.
Speaking on the need to expand contraceptive choices, Pascale Allotey, Director of WHO’s Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, said contraception should reflect people’s different needs and circumstances.
She said the choice of a contraceptive method should take into account factors including convenience, invasiveness, behaviour, reliability and accessibility.
“Choice is a gender equality issue,” Ms Allotey said, adding that contraception was not “one-size-fits-all”.
She noted that people should have the confidence and control to choose a contraceptive method, change it or stop using it.
WHO cautions against some contraceptive methods
While expanding the range of recommended methods, WHO said there was insufficient evidence to support some contraceptives for inclusion in family planning programmes.
The organisation called for further research into ormeloxifene before it is included in family planning programmes, citing limited evidence on its safety.
It also recommended against adding quinestrol-containing contraceptive pills to national contraceptive programmes because of limited evidence and reports of serious adverse events.
Push for male contraceptives
WHO said expanding contraceptive choices should also include methods that allow men to take greater responsibility for preventing pregnancy.
Currently, the main contraceptive methods under men’s direct control are condoms, withdrawal and vasectomy.
Despite the limited options, WHO said about 30 per cent of couples rely on a male method of contraception.
The organisation said its research challenges the longstanding assumption that men would not use new contraceptive methods.
More than 75 per cent of couples surveyed said they would be willing to use a new male contraceptive, while more than 85 per cent of women said they would trust their male partners to take responsibility for contraception.
To support the development of new methods, WHO has developed its first Target Product Profile for male contraceptives.
The profile outlines characteristics that future male contraceptive methods should aim to meet, including safety, effectiveness, acceptability and affordability.
READ ALSO: WHO urges safer care for people living with noncommunicable diseases
WHO said the profile is intended to provide researchers, funders and developers with clearer direction while helping to shape a contraceptive market that reflects users’ needs.
New male contraceptives in development
Several hormonal and non-hormonal male contraceptive methods are currently being researched, with some candidates in advanced clinical trials.
WHO said this suggests that new reversible male contraceptives could reach the market within the next five to 10 years.
The organisation said it would continue supporting countries to update their policies and family planning programmes in line with the best available scientific evidence.
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The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) says about 93 per cent of children affected by recent diphtheria outbreaks in Nigeria had not received the full recommended vaccine doses.
The agency’s Executive Director, Muyi Aina, disclosed this on Thursday during its quarterly media briefing in Abuja.
Mr Aina said an analysis of cases recorded during the outbreaks showed that most affected children were either unvaccinated or had received fewer than the three recommended doses.
“We looked at data from all the cases that we have had, and in the different outbreaks that are happening, over 90 per cent, I think 93 per cent of the children had not received the full complement of vaccines that they should receive,” he said.
He said some affected children had either received no vaccine or only one of the three recommended doses.
Mr Aina attributed the situation partly to misinformation and false rumours affecting vaccine uptake in some communities.
“The vaccines are available. We have advocated, and we have interventions to get communities to access these vaccines,” he said.
“But when people allow misinformation and false rumours to influence their behaviour, they don’t access the vaccines.”
Mr Aina said reducing vaccine-preventable diseases remained a critical priority of the agency’s immunisation programme.
Other vaccination programmes
Mr Aina said more than 18.3 million girls had received the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, and efforts are ongoing to expand coverage among eligible girls.
“For the human papillomavirus vaccine, over 18.3 million of our girls have now been vaccinated,” he said.
He added that the measles-rubella vaccine had reached more than 102 million children aged nine months to 14 years.
According to him, 882,000 children in Kebbi, Bayelsa, Ondo and Bauchi states had received at least the first dose of the malaria vaccine.
Mr Aina said the agency was also recording gradual improvement in routine immunisation coverage and reducing the number of zero-dose children through targeted interventions.
READ ALSO: NPHCDA records 45 million quarterly PHC visits, links 773,000 pregnant women to care
“We are reducing our number of zero-dose children through several interventions, including the identification, enumeration and vaccination of children, and through targeted interventions to reach underserved communities,” he said.
He urged caregivers, community leaders and teachers to support vaccination efforts to protect children against preventable diseases.
“I think this should be a wake-up call for all of us who are caregivers, for those of us that are community leaders and teachers, that we need to again focus on making sure that we get all of the vaccines that we need,” Mr Aina said.
He added that efforts are underway to expand the Basic Health Care Provision Fund to more facilities, increasing coverage from 8,300 to 15,000.
(NAN)
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Malnutrition admissions at 10 health facilities supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in north-eastern Nigeria rose 18 per cent in the first nine months of 2026.
The facilities recorded nearly 20,000 admissions between January and September, up from about 17,000 in the same period of 2025, the ICRC said in a statement on Thursday.
The figures cover six health centres and four hospitals. Young children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers were among those most affected.
Mubi in Adamawa State saw the sharpest rise, from about 4,600 admissions in the first nine months of 2025 to approximately 5,700 this year, an increase of nearly 24 per cent.
The latest numbers follow earlier ICRC warnings about rising demand for nutritional treatment in conflict-affected areas.
In October 2024, the organisation reported a 24 per cent increase in severe acute malnutrition admissions between the third quarters of 2023 and 2024, from 6,824 to 8,470.
Admissions of children under five with severe acute malnutrition and medical complications also rose from 1,212 to 1,691 in the same period.
These figures cover different reporting periods and patient categories and cannot establish a continuous three-year trend.
They do, however, show repeated increases in demand for nutritional treatment.
Mothers struggle
At the Mubi Stabilisation Centre, Zulaihatu Mohammed brought her six-month-old daughter, Huseina, one of her twins, for nutritional support.
“When I gave birth to them, this one was tiny,” she told the ICRC. “I came today for the routine collection of children’s food. She is not feeling well. Since I gave birth to her, she has been unwell.”
Armed violence, climate shocks and economic pressures have disrupted livelihoods and limited access to food.
According to the ICRC’s video report, farmer Saminu Ijaduwa cultivates a small plot near his home because explosive devices have made more distant fields dangerous.
“Due to the conflict, going one kilometre out of town to farm could be highly risky. You might not return!” he said in the ICRC report.
Restrictions on farming and disrupted markets have made it harder for families to produce or buy enough food, particularly affecting young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Humanitarian response
In a March 2026 report, the ICRC said more than 36,000 people received treatment for severe acute malnutrition at its supported facilities in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states during 2025.
The total included more than 16,000 children under five and more than 19,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women.
The organisation also provided cash assistance to more than 17,000 vulnerable families during the 2025 lean season.
Those annual treatment figures are not directly comparable with the new nine-month admission totals.
The ICRC said it is working with the Nigerian Red Cross Society to support 15 primary healthcare centres and four hospitals and to assist more than 200 communities with malnutrition treatment and food-security programmes.
Interventions include supplying farmers with seeds adapted to drought and flooding, promoting crop diversification and teaching mothers to prepare nutritious meals from local ingredients.
One such mixture of sorghum, millet, soybeans, groundnuts and moringa, known as Tom Brown, has helped more than 13,000 young children recover from moderate acute malnutrition, according to the ICRC. Mothers are also taught how to prepare it at home.
READ ALSO: Over 87,000 children treated for malnutrition in Katsina in eight months – MSF
Wider food insecurity
The rise in admissions comes as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) identify Nigeria among the world’s hunger hotspots of highest concern in their June to November 2026 outlook.
Citing United Nations analysis, the ICRC said more than 34 million people in Nigeria were expected to face insufficient access to food in 2026, the highest figure in six years.
In the North-east, prolonged conflict continues to restrict access to farmland and undermine household livelihoods, according to the ICRC.
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