Introduction

Population explosion is a serious crisis faced by the entire world. Particularly in Nigeria there is high fertility, but people are less inclined towards using contraceptives. This stigma is largely because of increased cultural inclination towards high fertility and religious beliefs against contraceptives (Omideyi et al., 2011). Multiple social cues are, therefore, responsible such as the role of the husband and personal beliefs (Eastham, Milligan and Limmer, 2020). Women who believed and understood the concept of family planning were three times more likely to use contraceptives. Only 1 out of 5 women opt for family planning while only 16% are in favor of limiting child rearing and properly planning pregnancies. There have been multiple efforts through social and behavior change programs to change the popular opinion but so far it has not yielded profitable outcomes (Sundstrom et al., 2021; August et al., 2021). This business plans aims to establish a Family Planning Clinic in Nigeria, run by a nurse/midwife who will not help to decide the appropriate contraceptive method but will also help with postpartum family planning. The primary aim of the practice will be to educate people and promote their independent decision-making under the counsel of a trained and certified nurse/ midwife. The clinic will provide evidence-based service to the Nigerian community complying by the guidelines set by the local government which is making all efforts possible to make family planning and access to contraceptives available for all at no cost. This will improve pregnancy outcomes and will help in expediting care service delivery with limited resources.

Executive Summary

This business plan will tackle the problem of unavailability of proper family planning clinics in Nigeria by exploring the existing landscape and scope of the problem. It will also present the available effective methods and the role of decision-making. Moreover, after substantiating the need for this service, it will present the finances required and the turnover expected. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn to emphasize on the need for this service plan.

Available effective methods and decision making

Ensuring that people have access to multiple contraceptive methods is now an important aspect of fundamental human rights. At present, there are multiple methods to prevent unwanted pregnancies (Bulatao, 2019). Using contraceptives does not only protect against unwanted pregnancies but also against pregnancy-related health risks. The number of women wanting to use family planning and contraceptives is increasing by the day. As of 2020, 76.8% women express their satisfaction by modern means of contraceptives (Kantorová et al., 2020). This number is continuously increasing. There is still however, limited choices available for women in most African countries such as Nigeria (Blackstone, Nwaozuru and Iwelunmor, 2017). Methods of contraceptives include, oral, implantable, injectable contraceptives, vaginal rings, intra-uterine, male, and female condoms, sterilization among others. Each of these methods has a different mechanism of action but aims towards achieving the same goal. The effectiveness of each method is measured by the number of women who got pregnant per 100 in the duration of a year (Kakaiya, Lopez and Nelson, 2017). The less the number of pregnancies, the more effective will be the method. At present, cervical implants which essentially make the cervical mucous more viscous to block the sperm from reaching the egg have been categorized as the most effective followed by male vasectomy (Han, Taub and Jensen, 2017). The effectiveness of these methods also depends on the correct usage and frequency of use. Condoms have been deemed to be effective to not only reduce pregnancies but also to protect against sexually transmitted diseases, but their proper disposal remains a cause of concern for environmentalists in Nigeria (Mbachu et al., 2021). The lack of awareness and social approval remains a big bottleneck in the effort to achieve reproductive health outcomes for women in Nigeria (Adefalu et al., 2018). Keeping in mind previous medical history, the couple can be advised multiple options the most popular being the use of condoms and vasectomy but the final decision rests with the couple. For successful adoption of the method, it is important that both partners consent to the practice (Force et al., 2012). Use of contraception helps people decide the appropriate time between their pregnancies considering medical risks, finances, and social cues. The clinic will provide economic feasibility and availability check to help with the decision-making process. Moreover, it will also help in caring for pregnant women and providing post-partum support. Post-partum family planning has been recognized as a crucial intervention to save the life of birthing mothers and infants (Hounton et al., 2015). In Nigeria, most women do not have the support or services for longer intervals between pregnancies or for those who do not wish to have future pregnancies. While 95% of the women, post-partum wants to avoid pregnancy, an alarming 70% of them do not use contraception (Idowu et al., 2015). With the right post-partum consultation and care service, 30% of the maternal deaths can be avoided. The concept of continued care included post-partum care as well. It begins with antenatal care, labor and birth care, post-partum care and finally childcare.

Finances

In the light of increasing demand in this sector, there are not many family-planning clinics in Nigeria that offer cost-effective services and solutions to all people. This clinic will aim to acquire government sponsorships to generate seed funding and will then set up in a locality central to most patients. There are many programs offered by external agencies such as US-AID to achieve sustainable development goals 3.7.1. Once set up, the clinic will utilize social media platforms and other community campaign initiatives to educate and aware people of this new facility. Moreover, initially the clinic will offer free consultations to garner positive feedback and will later set up multiple economical packages so people from all classes can acquire the services. It will also partner with multiple insurance agencies to help people get quality treatment regardless of their financial situation. Initial total expenses in the first year are calculated to be £50,000 while the revenue will be £10,000. But by year 5 this revenue is expected to double to achieve sustainability. Partnerships with hospitals and multiple healthcare brands will also be established to have quality care products. The clinic will also hire human resource and business expansion feasibility staff after 5 -10 years in the hope to expanding services to different cities long term.

Conclusion

Family-planning and post-partum planning are important healthcare services which directly impact the mortality of birthing women and their children. In countries like Nigeria, not only are these services limited but social attitude towards contraception is stigmatized which is a big bottleneck in care service delivery. This business plan aims to establish a clinic run by a registered nurse/midwife to offer consultation and treatment services to people. All practice will be evidence based and independent decision-making will be empowered. There are multiple women in support for family planning but are unable to do so due to family cues and as a result suffer short-spaced pregnancies which increase their mortality significantly. There are multiple sources of external and internal funding that can be approached for the initial seed. The clinic will definitely help to improve patient outcomes and accrue enough patients to achieve sustainability in 5 years.

Reference List

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