Stakeholders in Nigeria’s health and development sector say the institutionalization and scale-up of the Adolescent 360 (A360) Amplify project have significantly improved adolescent sexual and reproductive health outcomes in participating states.
The announcement was made during a dissemination meeting on the project held on Thursday in Abuja.
Implemented by the Society for Family Health (SFH) and partners, the A360 project was later adopted into government systems following documented successes. Launched in 2020, the initiative provides adolescent girls with access to sexual and reproductive health information, youth-friendly services, and economic empowerment opportunities.
The programme has been implemented in Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, and Nasarawa States using a human-centred design approach that engages governments, communities, and young people to improve uptake of family planning and maternal health services.
Dr. Aisha Sadiq, Permanent Secretary of Kaduna State Ministry of Health, said institutionalizing A360 had delivered measurable improvements in adolescent health indicators and community wellbeing. Kaduna currently provides A360 youth-friendly services in 623 Primary Health Care (PHC) centres.
She added that the Matasan Mata Arewa (MMA) initiative had reached 75 communities, empowering more than 15,000 girls with entrepreneurship skills and seed capital. More than 60,000 girls have accessed contraceptives through the programme, with a notable reduction in discontinuation rates as young women sustain use and transition to maternal and child health services.
“These changes have led to a marked reduction in maternal mortality and improved neonatal outcomes in these communities,” she said, quoting an elderly woman in a programme community who praised the initiative for empowering girls to realize their value.
Dr. Omokhudu Idogho, Managing Director of SFH, represented by Dr. Kenechukwu Erichalo, Deputy Managing Director for Project Delivery, said the four implementing states had successfully embedded A360 approaches into government systems, community structures, and routine health practices.
“The project has reached over one million adolescent girls with family planning services and engaged more than 500,000 others with comprehensive sexuality education messaging. Over 50,000 antenatal care visits were recorded, ensuring skilled care that saved lives, while supporting over half a million girls in learning income-generating skills,” he said.
He noted that A360 pioneered the MMA and Niger Girls models, showing that culturally sensitive, human-centred programmes can succeed even in conservative communities. “Our most significant achievement is institutionalization. Today, all 1,750 A360-supported facilities are fully government-led,” he added.
Mrs. Roselyn Odeh, A360 Project Lead, said the initiative was developed in response to poor adolescent health indices in the country, ensuring respectful, youth-friendly services at PHCs while supporting school reintegration and entrepreneurship for girls.
She highlighted challenges such as weak PHC infrastructure, funding gaps, commodity shortages, and the need to engage husbands in conservative communities. “But creatively, we worked with governments to mobilize domestic funding through health revolving funds and the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund,” she said.
Mr. Sagir Musa, Commissioner for Youth, Jigawa State, assured continued commitment from implementing states to sustain and expand the project’s gains. “This project may be nearing closure, but for us, it has just begun. We have embedded its approaches into the work we do,” he said.
The dissemination meeting brought together policymakers, community leaders, development partners, and beneficiaries to review lessons learned and outline future priorities for scaling adolescent health interventions nationwide.
