Nigeria To Increase Health Facilities, Providing Family Planning


By
Independent Newspaper
Nigeria Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, at the recently concluded Family Planning Summit in London has pledged, in collaboration with its partners and the private sector, to achieve a modern contraceptive rate of 27% among all women by 2020. The government also pledged to increase the number of health facilities providing family planning.
Nigeria committed increasing its annual allocation for contraceptives to $4 million, and to ensure total disbursement of $56 million to the states, through its participating in the Global Financing Facility and via international development assistance loans. Nigeria will expand the implementation of its task-shifting policy to include patent medicine vendors and community volunteers to improve access to family planning services in difficult-to-reach areas and among disadvantaged populations. Nigeria will use its Minimal Initial Service Package for sexual reproductive health to provide family planning supplies within its national crisis preparedness and response.
According to a statement made available to Saturday Independent, Nigeria pledged to remove regulatory barriers and to scale up access to new contraceptive methods such as sub-cutaneous Depo Medroxyprogesterone Acetate injections (Sayana Press). To transform its last-mile distribution of health and family planning commodities, Nigeria will use a push-model system, and collaborate with the private sector to optimally transport, store and track commodities, using an electronic logistics management system.
A new tracking and accountability system will report annually and real-time, expenditures for family planning at national and state levels. The government will increase the number of health facilities providing family planning services in each of its states and federal territory to 20,000 and leverage its 10,000 functional primary health care facilities to raise awareness about family planning. In this vein, Nigeria will partner with stakeholders and gatekeepers to reduce socio-cultural barriers for family planning services, including by collaborating with line ministries to ensure the provision of age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health information to youth through the Family Life Health Education Curriculum and youth-friendly services in health facilities and other outlets.
To address financial barriers, the government will collaborate with states, donors and other stakeholders on a health insurance scheme to make household family planning expenditures reimbursable.
This commitment will go a long way in reaching thousands of women and girls with critical reproductive health information. According to the report, Nigeria has over 3.8 million married and sexually active adolescents (ages 15-19) of whom 19% have an unmet need for contraception.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Limited Information Frustrates Young Women From Using Family Planning

Image
BY CHIOMA UMEHA, Awareness and proper understanding of family planning has been recognised to reduce maternal death among young women of reproductive age between 15 and 49. Data on Sexual Reproductive Health outcomes in Nigeria stresses the importance of focusing on adolescents. At 576 maternal death per 1,000 live births, Nigeria accounts for 14 percent of the global burden of maternal mortality (NDHS 2013/WHO 2014). Global evidence shows that young girls bear a higher burden of maternal mortality and morbidity. Data shows that the average age at sexual debut is roughly 15 years of age among adolescent mothers in Nigeria. (NDHS 2003, 2008, 2013). The National adolescent fertility rate in Nigeria is 122 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 years. In the North Western States, it is as high as 171 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 years. To stem this, the government of Lagos State with support from partners and other donor agencies has put in place youth-friendly he
Read more

Nestle Takes Action To Promote Safe Food And Empowers Food Vendors

Image
By Umeha Ucheoma Ogun Photo:  Funmi Osineye, Manager, Nestlé Professional Nigeria, educating the participants on the use of MAGGI seasoning. The quality and cost of these items for consumers are two factors that experts advise food businesses to always take into consideration.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a balanced diet is important for both excellent nutrition and health, and it may also lengthen life.  A variety of chronic non-communicable diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, can be prevented by eating a balanced diet, which also strengthens muscles, improves immunity, strengthens bones, and keeps skin, teeth, and eyes healthy. Sadly, in a low-income nation like Nigeria, the caterers, food sellers, canteens, and "bukkas" that cater to this market sector do not always receive the support they require to offer wholesome, affordable meals that may guarantee that their clients receive the nutrients needed for optimum health.  However,
Read more

PSN President Commissions ACPN National Secretariat

Image
Chioma Umeha History was made among the community pharmacists recently, as the national body of the Association of Community Pharmacists (ACPN) inaugurated its National Secretariat at Ikeja, Lagos State. The event was graced by many notable personalities in the pharmaceutical sector including, Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai, the president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) who commissioned the befitting edifice. Other notable guests at the event were – Dr. UNO Uwaga, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for ACPN; Pharm. Bukky George, the Managing Director of Healthplus, among many former presidents of different pharmaceutical bodies. Pharm. Yakasai stated that it was a thing of joy for him to see this development come to light. He said that he is ‘a proud father’ as the inauguration of the building was a “testimony of when you have a proud son who can carry out directives.” He described the secretariat as “A home for all pharmacists across board.”
Read more