By Aderogba George
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have called on government to ensure more funding for Reproductive Health and Family Planning (RH/FP) activities.
They made the call in Abuja on Monday at the CSO/Media engagement on domestic resources mobilisation for reproductive health supplies in Nigeria.
Dr Joachim Chijide, Family Planning/Reproductive Health Commodity Security Specialist, said that the Federal Government had been doing its best in funding of these concept.
Chijide, however, said that there was room for improvement of funding by government at all levels to achieve Nigeria’s FP 2030 commitment of having at least 27 per cent of Modern Contraceptic Prevalence Rate (mCPR).
He said that investment of one per cent of federal and states annual budgets in FP will yield over 1.1 billion dollar in returns.
According to him, between 2024 and 2030, every one dollar invested in family planning in Nigeria will yield 69.3 dollars returns on the average.
“Investment of one per cent Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) in FP will save over 9.3 million dollar on other basic healthcare interventions,” he said.
He said that the Federal Government was yet to release the two billion Naira in the 2024 budget for family planning commodity procurement.
Chijide said that the Federal Government should also sign Annex A of the compact of commitment 2025-2028 to make Nigeria eligible to receive donated commodities from the UNFPA supplies partnership.
“Family planning is vital for achieving the demographic dividend by shaping population dynamics and fostering economic growth through a balance age structure.
“Family planning reduces maternal and child mortality, empowers informed reproductive choices, improves overall health outcome, and directly contributes to attainment of Sustainable Development Goal one, three, four, five and ten.
“Nigeria is committed to the FP2030 of mCPR of at least 27 per cent by 2030 and one per cent of the annual National Health Budget both at federal and state levels.
“But low investment and current gaps in FP commodities hinder progress, risking setbacks in health outcomes and the nation’s broader development goals,” he said.
He listed states that have contributed to funding of family planning activities to include Gombe, Ogun, Lagos, Delta, Adamawa and Rivers, stressing that there was need for more funding even from other states.
In his welcome address, Dr Ejike Oji, Chairman Management Committee, Association for the Advancement of Family Planning (AAFP) said that the CSO/Media engagement was aimed at building upon the work done by the Smart Advocacy team constituted by UNFPA in 2023.
“UNFPA formed a team comprising seasoned advocates who received a week-long training on strategic approaches for advocating domestic resource mobilisation for family planning.
“Today, we gather to build upon that work. Nigeria’s social and security challenges are, in many ways, a reflection of our population dynamics.
“With a rapidly growing youthful population and an emigration rate that continues to rise, we face a situation where, regrettably, citizens are increasingly affected by violence.
“Our dependent population now stands at approximately 85 per cent, a figure that underscores the urgency of addressing the sustainability of our nation’s future.
“Today, we aim to create strong, actionable advocacy that aligns with our collective goals,” he said.
He commended the Coordinating Minister of Health for releasing four million dollars in counterpart support for procuring essential family planning commodities.
“UNFPA has confirmed the receipt of these funds, unlocking an additional 2 million dollar in support for Nigeria. This is a critical step forward, yet there is still work to be done.
“Our task today is to develop targeted advocacy for the Government of Nigeria, urging them to release the two billion dollars budgeted for this fiscal year,” he said.
Oji said that this funding would strengthen the nation’s national capacity and also unlock further global resources for Nigeria.
The AAFP Chairman said that family planning services in Nigeria were no longer solely about health outcomes but an economic survival imperative.