The federal government says it is committed to financing family planning to ensure that Nigeria achieves a 27 percent modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) among women by 2024.
The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr Daju Kachollom, stated this yesterday in Abuja during a two-day annual national pause and reflect moment of the Society for Family Health’s Adolescent 360 programme (A360), with the theme ‘Consolidating the Gains of Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Programming in Nigeria’.
Represented by the Director of Family Health, Dr Stella Nwosu, she said the current phase of A360 Amplify programme has placed a strong emphasis on Human-Centered Design (HCD) and integration into government health and development systems.
She said this strategic shift was driven by the collective recognition that lasting impact and sustainability could only be achieved through the seamless integration of ASH services into the healthcare landscape.
She called on states to begin to brainstorm on innovative approaches to sustain the programme.
“The importance of our work extends far beyond the lifespan of A360. The delivery of our commitments to adaptation is pivotal to achieving institutionalization and sustainability. It is our duty to ensure that the gains we have achieved thus far are not short-lived but become an enduring legacy that future,” she said.
Managing Director, Society for Family Health, Dr Omokhudu Idogho, said the Adolescent 360 programme had supported an expansion of youth focused service delivery by working to attain at least 70 percent of primary health care coverage in focal states.
He said it had helped in strengthening human capacity for health through training of 1,264 providers on Youth-Friendly Health Services (YFHS), contraceptive technology and 1,006 mobilisers as well as female mentors.
He said these combined efforts resulted in over 370,000 persons taking up modern contraceptives for the first time.
He said, “The project continues to strive toward human capital development for adolescent girls and have improved human capital outcomes among 58,000 girls.”
