Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria has experienced a decline in funding for Family Planning.
The Association for the Advancement of Family Planning (AAFP) who stated this during a post 6th NigeriabFP Conference Media round table said the realities of COVID-19 hindered the responses expected from various advocacy efforts and resulted in gains being lost.
The Chairman, Local organising committee, Dr. Ejike Orji who was reading from the conference comunique said shortcomings in our emergency preparedness were exposed including lower category status of family planning Regrettably adding that but there is stil heavy donor around FP programming in Nigeria.
He said the inclusion of Adolescent and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health (AYSRH) including contraception services in the State annual operational plans and costed implementation plans while ensuring adolescent and youth focused interventions in states where the family planning unmet need among young people is high and increasing.
Dr Orji said we should invest in Post pregnancy family planning programs for first time teenage mothers and married adolescents.
The group also urged to integrate family planning services into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) programme to help Nigerians access the services.
“Integrate young people into the state Reproductive Health/Family Planning Technical Working Group to ensure meaningful engagement of Adolescents and Young People (AYP) in program design, implementation and evaluation at all levels. Also improve efforts to establish Adolescents Health and Development Technical Working Groups in all 36 States while ensuring compliance with the Adolescent Health and Development Technical Working Group Operationalization Guide which made clear provisions for a young person to be part of the leadership.”
Dr. Orji also said FP services should be incorporated into the national emergency preparedness strategy adding that women empowerment ventures should include FP components or at least partner with FP entities, Support poverty alleviation activities in communities where Interfaith organisations implement activities.
He further said that family planing service providers should leverage on the huge potential inherent in digital technology through training, connecting and providing information and services for family planing clients such as, digital service provision and telemedicine.
He added that government should integrate young people into the State Reproductive Health/ Family Planing Technical Working Group to ensure meaningful engagement of adolescents young people (AYP) in program design, implementation and evaluation at all levels.
A member of the Board of Trustees of AAFP, Dr. Asmau Jodan called on the general public to rise up and support the rape victims by joining the campaign against rape in the country.
She urged the government and policies makers to enact a law that would provide stiffer penalties for rapists in the society while encouraging parent and relevant stakeholders in the country to adopt the practice and teaching of sex education to their children right from their adolescent stage to their adulthood to enable them have a good picture of the side effects of sex.
She urged the general public not to stigmatise those who were affected by the devilish act, noting that doing so would throw the victims into traumat the more.
