By Asma’u Ahmad
The Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH) has called on the Federal and State Governments to increase funding of Family Planning (FP) programmes. Head of Communication of Civil Society Legislative and Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), one of the NGOs under PACFaH, Mr. Abubakar Jimoh, made the appeal in an interview with the Newsmen in Abuja.
While describing FP as one of the key pillars and most cost effective means of achieving safe motherhood, Mr. Jimoh decried poor budgetary allocations to reproductive healthcare services in the country.
However, he attributed the nation’s high maternal mortality rate on lack of access to FP commodities by those that desired such services.
According to him, available evidence revealed that budgetary provisions for FP is grossly inadequate in spite of programmes made in this regard through supportive policy environment as well as provision of free contraceptive in public health facilities.
Mr. Jimoh noted that the inadequate budgeting was compounded by non-accountable release and utilisation of the FP funds.
He further said that the poor funding FP predisposed Nigeria to the dangers of socio-economic crises of quality of life, development and reaping demographic dividends.
Jimoh said: “Funding family planning is imperative and such funds should be made available to bring access to high quality service delivery closer to everyone at every health facilities nationwide.”
He stressed that low level of contraceptive use contributes to Nigeria’s poor maternal and child health status as well as account for the high fertility rate of almost six children per woman, among others.
Jimoh, however, said that FP programmes in the country have been driven and funded totally by donor agencies like the UNFPA, USAID, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, among others.
He explained that a woman’s ability to space and limit her pregnancies has a direct impact on her health and wellbeing as well as on the outcome of each pregnancy.
CISLAC is one of the eight NGOs under PACFaH geared toward encouraging government at national and state levels to identify innovative mechanisms to provide adequate funding in child and family health, Routine Immunisation, FP and nutrition.
