Stakeholders urge govt sustained efforts on family planning


Stakeholders in the health sector have urged the government to fulfil her commitment to the 2020 global partnership to empower women and girls by budgeting the agreed four million US dollars annually, for family planning commodities and services.


Speaking at a virtual stakeholders meeting organised by the Africa Health Budget Network, Convener of the meeting, Dr. Aminu Magashi Garba, in a presentation “FP2020 COMMITMENTS ; Key Findings from the use of the Motion Tracker in 2019 and 2020 in Nigeria”, recalled that the government was committed to embark on deliberate efforts to ensure sustainable financing for the National Family Planning program. 


According to Garba, Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) was expected “to ensure provision of US$4M annually from 2017 to 2020 for procurement of contraceptives for the public sector (an increase from the US$3M committed from 2011 to 2014) including payment of backlog of commitments for 2013 and 2014 in line with 2012 and 2017 London FP Summits”. 
He, however, regretted that the government has not met up with its financial obligations to the global campaign, as a result of what he identified as lack of multi-sectoral platform coordinating family planning activities in the relevant ministries.


Responding to the presentation, the Director and Head of Division, Reproductive Health, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Kayode Afolabi, said partners in the family planning campaign were doing very well, adding that state governments need to increase funding for family planning.


Dr. Afolabi also called for more advocacy and public enlightenment on the use of family planning commodities in the country.
On his part, a former Deputy Chairman, House of Representative Committee on Health, Hon. Muhammad Usman, said there was need for high level engagement on family planning funding among both state actors and non-state actors, including heads of Ministries, departments, agencies and NGO’s and education of the citizens to help increase public awareness on effective use of family planning commodities, for improved maternal and child healthcare in Nigeria. 


Other participants at the webinar advocated for the inclusion of family planning commodities and services in the National Health Insurance Scheme, as well as the need for the government to consider giving women and girls in the Internally Displaced Persons Camps across the country family planning commodities.

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