By Our Correspondent (Katsinatimes)
The Katsina State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening family planning services, improving access to contraceptive commodities and reducing maternal and child mortality in the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Musa Adamu Funtua, stated this on Monday at a press conference held at the Katsina Guest Inn Hall to commemorate World Contraception Day.
He said family planning should not be treated as a standalone health intervention but as part of a broader strategy to improve maternal and child health, nutrition, child survival and the overall wellbeing of families.
According to him, ensuring that women, adolescents and couples have access to accurate information, quality services and a range of family planning methods remains critical to building healthier and more productive communities.
Funtua said data from the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) showed that contraceptive prevalence among married women in Katsina State remained low, with modern contraceptive use standing at about 6.7 per cent, while the overall contraceptive prevalence rate was about 7.7 per cent.
He added that the survey also indicated a significant unmet need for family planning, underscoring the need for increased investment in services, awareness and commodity availability across the state.
The commissioner said the figures demonstrated the need for stronger interventions by government and development partners to expand access to family planning, particularly among women and couples who needed the services.
He stressed that improved family planning could contribute to addressing maternal and newborn health challenges, while also supporting better nutrition and child survival.
Funtua said the state government was adopting a systems-based approach to family planning, which included government leadership, diversified financing, commodity security, reliable data and stronger partnerships with development organisations.
He disclosed that the state had domesticated relevant national procurement guidelines to strengthen government ownership and improve the availability of family planning commodities.
According to him, the move would enhance transparency and accountability in the procurement process and reduce overdependence on supplies from the Federal Government and development partners.
The commissioner said the state was also working towards providing dedicated funding for family planning commodities, with emphasis on timely release of funds and transparency in expenditure.
He noted that adequate planning was essential to effective delivery of family planning services, stressing that “what we do not plan for, we cannot substantially deliver.”
Funtua further said the state was improving its data systems to determine which health facilities had adequate commodities, where shortages existed, which methods were in demand and where demand was changing.
He said better data would improve forecasting, procurement, distribution, monitoring and accountability within the health system.
The commissioner appreciated the support of development partners and organisations working in the health sector, including the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, MSI Nigeria, Access to Medicine Initiative, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Sustainable Innovation and Development Solutions, among others.
He said their contributions had helped strengthen community-level interventions, outreach services, health information systems and the availability of reproductive health commodities.
Family planning requires collective action — Sufi
Also speaking shortly after the press conference, Dr Musa Abdullahi Sufi of Access to Medicine Initiative and Sustainable Innovation and Development Solutions said World Contraception Day provided an opportunity to remind governments, communities, civil society organisations, traditional and religious leaders, as well as the media, about the importance of family planning.
Sufi said inadequate access to family planning commodities and insufficient awareness remained challenges that required concerted action.
He urged stakeholders to intensify awareness among families on the importance of child spacing, saying it could contribute to healthier mothers and children.
He linked appropriate child spacing with improved maternal wellbeing and better child health and nutrition.
Sufi commended the Katsina State Government for domesticating the national procurement policy guidelines on family planning commodities.
He said the development would create an opportunity for the state to strengthen local procurement and ensure that commodities were available when women and men needed them.
He added that the inclusion of funds for the procurement of family planning commodities in the state budget would help reduce reliance on supplies from the Federal Government and development partners.
“More women and men, when they need access to family planning, can easily have it,” he said.
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