Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) has attained the status of an epidemic in slow motion. Gestational DM (GDM) is a subtype of DM, which occurs in pregnancy. As part of a baseline assessment, the knowledge of GDM was determined among women of reproductive age. Methods The study was a descriptive cross-sectional household survey involving 2,595 women of reproductive age residing in five local government areas in Southern Nigeria. It employed a multistage sampling technique to collect data using an interviewer administered questionnaire built using Open Data Kit software uploaded on android mobile phones. Results The response rate was 100%. Mean age was 29.25 ± 7.11 years. The majority (2,351; 90.6%) had heard about DM but only 991 (38.2%) knew that diabetes can occur for the first time in pregnancy. Only 747 (28.8%), 929 (35.8%), and 790 (30.4%) respondents had good knowledge scores for GDM definition and risk factors, GDM screening diagnosis and treatment, and GDM complications, respectively. Only 681 (26.2%) had good overall knowledge of GDM. The major sources of knowledge of GDM were from friends (49.8%), health workers (34.6%), and mass media (10.4%). Residence in two urban local government areas (adjusted odds ratio [adj OR] = 1.79; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.36–2.34 and adj OR = 1.89; 95% CI = 1.37–2.61), being married (adj OR = 1.50; 95% CI = 1.16–1.95), and having been pregnant (adj OR = 2.69; 95% CI = 1.99–3.64) positively predicted good overall knowledge of GDM. Conclusion These results underscore the need for diabetes information and education activities on a large scale targeted at women of reproductive age and their partners for the prevention and control of GDM.

Background Youth friendly services, an evidence based approach to overcome the barriers experienced by youths in accessing care, is poorly implemented. The Medical Women's Association of Nigeria (MWAN) Rivers State chapter, was supported by Ford Foundation to mainstream youth-friendly health services (YFHS) into existing primary health care facilities in two hard-to-reach communities. This paper presents the interventions, findings, challenges and recommendations. Methods This study project was implemented in stages: design, baseline survey, interventions and evaluation, between 2014 and 2016. Interventions included facility modifications, health worker capacity building, school and community outreaches, peer group activities, and interpersonal communication. Pre-and-post-intervention surveys were carried out among in- and out-of-school youths to determine the effects of the interventions. Results The most commonly stated barriers to uptake of youth friendly health services included: unavailability of services (154; 33.1%), unavailability of health care workers (167; 38.9%), unaffordability of services (108; 45.8%) and difficulty in communicating with health workers (85; 36.0%). Post-intervention, utilization improved across all services while the perception of barriers to utilization of services reduced (p < 0.05). The interventions implemented increased the odds of youths utilizing YFHS 1.81 times (95% CI = 1.39-2.37). Conclusion Facility modifications, capacity building of health workers, school and community outreaches, peer group activities, and interpersonal communication improved utilization across all services while the perception of barriers to utilization of services reduced. Implementation of YFHS is impacted by external factors often beyond the control of project implementers. Innovative solutions outside of routine health care delivery systems are critical for success. Further evaluation to explore the effect of these interventions is needed. Strengthening of health systems remains a vital strategy for scale-up of YFHS.