Health advocates under the umbrella of a coalition of civil society organisations working in the health sector want more funding for family planning in the 2023 budget, saying the 5.7% currently provided for is extremely low.
The advocates, led by Usman Muhammad, called on the National Assembly to review the proposed health budget to ensure enough financing in the final approved budget.
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The advocates included the Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health at Scale; Nigeria Health Watch, USAID, Vaccine Alliance, Legislative Advocacy Initiatives for Sustainable Development, and the Health Advocates for Health.
The advocates lamented that Nigeria has not yet provided the necessary funding for a sustainable population despite the growing overpopulation that is increasing maternal mortality, insecurity, and poverty.
“In a situation where the current proposed budget is less than N6,000 per Nigerian is a very low investment for Nigeria”, he said.
They urged the federal government to adhere to its pledge to provide 1% of Nigeria’s budget to family planning and to enhance family planning services through the use of contraceptives, interventions, and complementary funding.
