By Muhammad Amaan
Association for the Advancement of Family Planning (AAFP) has called for an increased in the domestic funding to sustain family planning services and meet the country’s FP2030 commitments.
Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the AAFP’s Post-8th Nigeria Family Planning Conference Media Roundtable in Abuja, Dr Ejike Oji, stated this in a communiqué issued at the end of the conference.
He emphasized the urgent need for increased domestic funding to sustain family planning services and meet the country’s FP2030 commitments.
At the conference held from December 2 to 6, 2024, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, pledged to push for legislation ensuring increased funding for family planning programs.
Other stakeholders stressed the need for a minimum 2% annual increase in the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) to achieve Nigeria’s 27% target by 2030.
The participants also urged religious and traditional leaders to actively support family planning advocacy by integrating modern contraceptive education into faith teachings and addressing cultural norms that discourage smaller family sizes.
The role of men as decision-makers in family planning discussions was also emphasised.
Additionally, the conference recommended expanding reproductive health services in rural areas, strengthening data collection for family planning, and prioritizing gender-based violence prevention through women’s empowerment initiatives.
The AAFP called on governments, NGOs, youth-led organizations, women-led organizations, and civil society to implement the conference recommendations by 2027 to achieve equitable and sustainable family planning services.
The AAFP expressed gratitude to all stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, UNFPA, BMGF, FP2030, CIFF, and development partners, for their support and contributions to the conference’s success.
Dr Oji reaffirmed AAFP’s commitment to advancing family planning policies and called for the immediate implementation of these recommendations by 2027 to ensure equitable and sustainable reproductive health services in Nigeria.
