By Ndidi Chukwu
Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, has committed to work with national Civil Society Organization to improve advocacy for funding of Family Planning to reach the nation’s FP2020 goal.
FP2020 works with governments, civil society, multilateral organizations, donors, the private sector, and the research and development community to enable 120 million more women and girls to use contraceptives by 2020
Between 2012 and 2016, the Nigerian Government met just 11 per cent of its FP2020 pledge to provide $3 million per year for the purchase of family planning commodities and an additional $8.35 million for life-saving maternal, newborn, and child health commodities.
Prof. Isaac Adewole
To address this funding shortfall, Prof. Adewole at the side meeting of the FP2020 reference group during the London Summit committed to work with Civil Society Organizations to increase advocacy for funding.
He said: “56 Nigerian CSOs have written a letter to me which raised issues that needs our urgent attention, the letter is well understood and we are going to work with the CSOs to implement some of the recommendations in the letter, they cannot be done by me alone, we have to improve our collaboration and commitment to achieving the FP2020”
The minister in the meeting said he is open to receive recommendations from the CSOs who would wish to support the advocacy for improved funding for Family Planning by the Nigerian Government.
The CSOs in their letter had commended the minister of health for allocating over N900 million (about $3.17 million) in the 2017 appropriated health budget, for the procurement of Family Planning commodities and committed to support the health ministry, ministry of finance and that of Budget and National Planning, to ensure these funds are released on time this year for the procurement of FP commodities and funding of Nigeria’s Family Planning Blueprint (Scale-up plan).
