Nigerian health-tech startup GoMed has partnered with UNFPA and the Lagos State Government to launch a digital Self-Care Platform, initially rolled out for students at the University of Lagos. The goal is direct: give young people private, low-barrier access to contraceptives, reliable health information, and professional support.
Through the platform, students receive free contraceptives and other reproductive health commodities supplied by the Lagos State Ministry of Health and UNFPA, discounts on other health products, and discreet delivery straight to campus and student hostels. Beyond products, students can access UNFPA’s SoftLife 247 and U-PLAN platforms to connect directly with qualified family planning providers, plus confidential consultations with registered GoMed pharmacists.
The barriers this is built to address are well documented: young Nigerians face some of the highest rates of unintended pregnancy and unmet contraceptive need in the world, driven by cost, distance, stigma, misinformation, and fear about confidentiality, consequences that show up as unsafe abortion, STIs, and interrupted education. GoMed CEO Anthony Edeki said the platform was built so students “should be able to get reliable health information and essential products without cost, distance or fear of judgement becoming barriers.”
UNFPA’s Nigeria Resident Representative, Muriel Mafico, the same official behind the Kwara matching-funds programme we covered recently, is again the face of this rollout, underscoring how central reproductive health commodity access has become to UNFPA’s Nigeria strategy this year. The UNILAG pilot is meant as a foundation: partners say the model could expand to other university communities across Lagos State and eventually elsewhere in Nigeria.
What You Can Do
• If you’re a UNILAG student, check GoMed’s platform directly for eligibility and how to place a discreet request.
• If you’re at another Nigerian university, this is currently UNILAG-only; watch for expansion announcements rather than assuming availability elsewhere yet.
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