Close to $252 million would be required for the full implementation of the Family Planning Blueprint across federal, state, local governments and community levels, the Federal Government has disclosed.
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, revealed this at the formal launch of the Nigeria Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent and Elderly Health Plus Nutrition (RMNCAEH+N) multi-stakeholder partnership coordination platform, in Abuja, on Monday.
The purpose of the multi-stakeholder coordination platform, the Minister explained, is to harness the strength of diverse stakeholders and to leverage resources for the maximisation of outcomes and attainment of a shared vision for Nigerians, particularly women, children, adolescents and the elderly.
“It is unacceptable that our women, children and the aged are dying needlessly from preventable causes,” he stressed.
The Family Planning Blueprint, otherwise known as the scale up plan, the Ehanire said, was developed to facilitate a coordinated and wholistic implementation of interventions to scale up the delivery and uptake of quality and affordable family planning services in Nigeria.
The six thematic areas of the Blue Print, the minister revealed included demand creation, service delivery, procurement and Supply Chain Management, policy Advocacy (policy and environment), finance, supervision, monitoring and coordination.
The blueprint, he explained, was developed through extensive consultation and diligent efforts to understand the issues around partnership and the health of women, children, adolescents, and the elderly.
“The National Advocacy Strategy for the RMNCAEH+N programme will serve as an effective tool to guide advocacy efforts aimed at securing buy-in of policy- and decision-makers for articulation of enabling policies and increased allocation of resources for RMNCAEH+N programmes at all levels,” he said.
Explaining the efforts of the government to improve the health and well-being of Nigerians, especially vulnerable populations, including women, children, adolescents and elderly persons, the Minister said: “We have recorded some progress towards improvement of child survival and safe-motherhood through the provision of ready to use therapeutic food (RUTF) and sustaining the Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) commitments to ensure availability of family planning services to women and adolescents of reproductive age.
“In the same vein, the operationalisation of the National Health Act, 2014 (NHAct) through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), will greatly improve access to quality health care, particularly at the primary health care (PHC) level.”
