UYO
A total of 646,859 commodities worth over N600 million have been supplied to Akwa Ibom by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), between 2011-2021.
The representative of UNFPA, Dr Yakubu Aliyu, revealed this in his presentation on the overview of family planning commodity funding landscape for Akwa Ibom during the one-day disseminating meeting of national guidelines for state funded procurement of family commodities in Uyo, recently.
He stated that within the period, there was an increase in stock out due to decrease in funding.
Aliyu stressed that the way forward was for Akwa Ibom to prioritize investment in family planning and to set aside a minimum of seven per cent of budgetary allocation for family planning.
The commissioner for health, Professor Augustine Vincent Umoh, who reiterated the commitment of the state government to boost family planning, said that service providers in the health facilities were working hard to increase the uptake of family planning in the state .
Umoh stressed, this became imperative as family planning and contraception play a major role in changing and improving the lives of women and girls in communities which necessitate the availability of family planning commodities at the services delivery points.
Represented by the permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr Patrick Essiet, he explained that the national guidelines for state-funded Procurement of Family Planning Commodities wasdesigned to relay the FHD practices in respect of commodity procurement supply management to help states institutionalize the steps required for their participation.
“The role of stakeholders and health workers toward fostering availability of family planning commodities is absolutely important. With the national guidelines, we hope to achieve more on family planning services in the state which will serve as a guide on procurement of family commodities to the state,” he said.
Besides, he maintained that the guidelines would also cover two key aspects of family planning services in the state which would serve as a guide on procurement of family planning commodities.
The commissioner extolled Governor Udom Emmanuel for enabling improved health services including reproductive and family services.
He also lauded the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the FMoH for their supports supplies of family planning commodities to the state.
The director/ head, family and health department, FMoH, Dr Salma Anas, said the commodities and services through timely and adequate procurement of commodities using funds appropriated by the states.
He noted that family planning was globally recognized as an important strategy for the prevention of maternal morbidity and mortality.
Represented by a deputy director, Mr Ugochukwu Alex, hinted that the Federal Government had to declare commodities free at all public health facilities as a result of survey on inabilities to pay for services.
. He pointed out that since the implementation of the free family planning commodities, demand for services had increase exponentially leading to huge increase in family planning
This, according to him, requires more procurement of the commodities and of course, coming with a challenge of sourcing the funds which was a major issue facing Nigeria.
Commodities at the health facilities continues, the implication for the country was that social and economic development would be far reaching.
He, however, stated that the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Health was committed to collaboration with the states and development partners such as the UNFPA, towards repositioning the national family planning programme to facilitate the achievement of the Reproductive Health Commodities Security (RHCS).
He commended Akwa Ibom for being the first set of states to adopt and disseminate the document , believing that further steps would be taken by the state to give effects to the contents of the guidelines with a view to providing adequate funds for the procurement of family planning commodities
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