Chioma Umeha
The Sole Administrators of Local governments have
been urged to make available and release regularly, a monthly imprest for
family planning (FP) consumables at the Primary Health Centres.
Making the call was the Lagos State Advocacy
Working Group (LAWG), who noted that this is a good step to ensure that family
planning services and consumables are free at the local government level.
The group expressed the demand at their last
review meeting held in collaboration with Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health
Initiative (NURHI), in Lagos.
It noted that family planning consumables are now
free at the secondary facilities, while some Primary Health Centres (PHCs),
have also started making FP consumables free.
According to the group’s Chairperson, Ayo
Adebusoye, this improvement partly due to their many advocacy visits to some of
the Sole Administrators of Local Council Development Area (LCDAS), requesting
for imprest for FP consumable.
“As a result of these visits, some of the sole
administrators have started releasing monthly impress for FP consumables while
others have made promise to release fund. This means that soon FP consumables
will become free at the LG level, Adebusoye said.
He also stressed that it is important to create
awareness and let women to know that FP consumables are now free, at the Lagos
state secondary facilities like the general hospitals.
“According to a statement by the permanent
secretary health service commission, the medical directors have started ensuring
that this is put in place. This is a big step in improving the uptake of family
planning in the state,” he said.
While commending the LAWG team for their effort,
NURHI-Lagos Programme Officer, Prince Adewale Haastrup, admonished them not to
rest on their oar.
Haastrup said there was need to follow up on the
Sole Administrators and medical officers of health (MOH) at the local
government to ensure that the funds are released regularly as promised.
However, the NURHI Lagos Programme Officer noted:
“Although FP commodities are free in all the state health facilities, the FP
consumables have not been free at the PHCs and this has hindered many women
from accessing the service.
From the first quarter of this year, we will be
holding town hall meeting to sensitize the local government on family planning
services,” he further observed.
