By Hassan Zaggi
The Federal Government has expressed its commitment to expand access to family planning commodities in the country.
This is even as it is worried that despite huge investment and efforts over the years, there is still a huge gap in unmet needs for family planning in the rural communities and hard-to-reach areas of the country.
Speaking while declaring open the 2023 Annual Family Planning Technical Review meeting in Abuja, the Director, Family Health, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Boladale Alonge, said the Federal Government was determined to pull down challenges militating against the uptake of family planning programmes. .
Represented by Mrs Bako Aiyegbusi, the Director Family Health said: “It is pertinent to note that the Federal Ministry of Health is working to expand access to family planning commodities.
“The Federal Government has developed policies to ensure that every couple has access to family planning programmes.’’
She expressed worry that the huge gap in unmet needs was largely because of non-accessibility of family planning information and services, especially, in low resource settings as well as a huge funding gap for the procurement of FP commodities.
Dr.. Alonge disclosed that in a recent study conducted in 2020, Health service-related factors identified as challenges to family planning uptake included difficulty accessing services and procurement difficulties.
Other factors, according to her, included client related barriers were education, desire for more children, uncertainty about its need, partner disapproval, previous side effects, religious beliefs, culture disapproval, age, marital status, wealth index, residence, ignorance, embarrassment, domestic violence and sexual factor.
She, however, stressed that: “Additionally, the delivery and uptake of contraception has remained a major developmental challenge in Africa.
“In view of the enormous challenges enumerated above as factors inhibiting family planning uptake, there is an urgent call for partners and stakeholders to dialogue and foster a way forward so we can collectively achieve our set targets and that every woman of couple have access to safe and quality FP services at all Service Delivery Points (SDPs) spread across the entire nation”.
“As we move closer to the year 2030, we should focus on Sustainable Financing for Family Planning as well as the FP 2030 Commitment.”
On his part, the Chairman, Technical Management Committee, Association for the Advancement of Family Planning, Dr Ejike Oji,, said that Nigeria has made huge progress in the implementation of “Family Planning-2030’’ goals.
Oji stressed Nigeria’s commitment to achieving unmet needs for family planning, which, according to him, was paramount in realising the 27 per cent commitment by Nigeria.
Earlier, in her goodwill message, the United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA) Family Planning and Maternal Health Technical Specialist, Adeela Khen reiterated that, UNFPA has, over the years, remained the long standing partners of the family planning for the Federal Ministry of Health.
She noted that UNFPA remained passionate about the family sensitisation debate, particularly in Nigeria, which, she stressed, is one of the largest populations of Africa,
“As we move forward, we face more and more funding gaps as the contribution becomes so important, particularly in this year 2023, where we’re looking at almost 80% gap and that’s where we are presently,” she added.
