....Insists, They Are Barriers To Women In
Accessing Services
Chioma Umeha
After three days of brainstorming over barriers of
women in accessing family planning (FP) services in the country, experts at the
fifth biennial Nigeria Family Planning Conference (NFPC2018) demanded a review
of policies and laws guiding FP services to reverse the trend.
Making the demand at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja,
weekend, which began with a pre-conference event on December 3, with a focus on
youth, women and faith-based entities, they said it is important to subject
outdated policies and laws that limit access to family planning to judicial
trials and pronouncements.
The call was also contained in a communique issued
after the main conference with the theme, “Investments, Innovation,
Inclusiveness,’’ and held from December 4 – 6, with a total of 729 participants
drawn from the 36 states of the federation including partners, donors and
members of the International community.
The participants said the government must match
the country’s population growth with its economic growth for it to reap the
gains of demographic dividends. They also emphasised the importance of
developing family planning programmes that are context-specific and
evidence-based, insisting on subjecting outdated policies and laws that limit
women and girls rights to access family planning to judicial trials and
pronouncements.
The participants believed that the effort toward
achieving the 27 per cent target of mCPR for all women must be deliberate and
should recognising Family Planning as a key intervention toward ending
preventable maternal mortality and reaping the demographic dividend. mCPR means
modern contraceptive prevalence rate.
They reaffirmed the role of people-centered good
governance toward increased economic growth and increased delivery of quality
health services.
They said in the communiqué that while recognising
the increase in data visibility for family planning programming, there was a
need to develop a strategic framework to drive improvements in data management
as well as reduce cases of discrepancies and help to enhance quality decision
making in the delivery of services.
The participants recognising the role of the
private sector said there was need to improve synergy, coordinated networking
as well as a partnership within the health sector.
They also called for the maximisation of funding
opportunities and increased service delivery to more women and girls.
In appreciating the efforts of the Federal
Government and some state governments in implementing the Task Shifting and
Task sharing policy, they said that in spite of the increased funding for
family planning programmes, there was need for additional effort for
high-quality result.
However, speaking at the closing ceremony of the
on Friday, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, Minister of State for Health, said family
planning could serve as a positive force to improve national planning and
development.
He said that the conference became imperative to
convene family planning stakeholders to discuss and share experiences, ideas
and innovation, including serving as a platform for identifying new issues.
The minister said that Federal Government adopted
the option of investing in family planning which he added had been proven to be
a cost effective investment as well as lifesaving choice.
He acknowledged that family planning has
contributed to the building of the country’s economic potential and a positive
step towards building a healthy and happy family.
Ehanire said that every responsible country would
make provision for its citizens, noting that the conference provided guidance
to appropriate investment and innovations such as financing family planning
services, among others.
The minister who commended the AAFP, stakeholders
and donor agencies, UNFPA, UNSAID, Bill and Melinda Gates for their continued
support and investment in family planning, assured that the Federal Ministry of
Health would continue to collaborate with stakeholders for effective services.
In his on contribution, Sen. Olarenwa Tejuosho,
Chairman Senate Committee on Health, called on the executive to release the
additional $1 million dollars for family planning services.
Tejuosho noted that family planning was a major
contributor to Nigeria’s progress, for it would help to reduce the nation’s
populace, warning that we would be heading to doom if families are allowed to
continue to grow.
However, Dr. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and
Employment, said that the Federal Government would work with other partners to
exploit the population of the country to an advantage.
Ngige who delivered the keynote address to mark
the 6th Annual Population Lecture Series (APLS) with the theme, “Governance,
People’s Rights and Opportunities,” said there would not be a viable country
without people, adding that the Federal Government was not afraid by the
growing large population.
He said that the ministry was working hard to
increase the work force as well as reduce the unemployment rate of 18.4 per
cent which he said was unacceptable.
Speaking earlier, Chief Eze Duruiheoma, Chairman,
National Population Commission (NPopC), said that the relationship between
people’s rights and opportunities under good governance was that it created an
opportunity for everyone.
Duruiheoma explained that the APLS was an event
that focuses on growing population issues, which called for the attention of
policy makers.
He noted that there was a leadership challenge for
good governance such as lack of transparency, electoral reform, corruption,
unemployment, security, and human rights.
Duruiheoma appreciated other sister agencies and
development partners for their contributions.
Prof. Awa Kalu (SAN), Chairman of the occasion,
said that governance was about people taking care of their rights, adding that
good governance means harnessing the lives of people, people’s rights as well
as opportunities.
This is just as Dr. Eugene Kongnyu, UNFPA Acting
Country Representative, said that governance means processes that produce
results and results that meet the need of the society, adding that the needs of
the people would be met when there are high resources. Represented by Mr. Osaretin
Adonri, the UNFPA official, however, said that it was imperative to provide an
enabling environment in to meet the needs of the people.
