FG Spends $3m On Family Planning Commodities

The Chairman, National Population Commission (NPC), Mr Festus Odimegwu, has said  that the Federal Government spent over three million dollars for the purchase of family planning commodities in 2011.

The chairman, who made the statement at a news conference in commemoration of the 2012 World Population Day in Yola on Monday, said it was in line with the Federal Government’s activity on community based family planning.

Odimegwu, who was represented by the state’s Director of the Commission, Malam Shehu Ahmed, said the present administration had also taken a bold step towards better government involvement in family planning services.

He said that government, at all levels, should ensure the availability and accessibility of affordable family planning services to all couples and individuals who voluntarily asked for them.

Odimegwu explained that the Federal Government, through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), was making effort to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health.

“The focus is therefore on family planning, maternal health, sexuality education and HIV/AIDS prevention services.”

He explained that the 2008 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey revealed that 23 per cent of women in Nigeria aged between 15 to nineteen were already mothers or were pregnant with their first child.

According to him, 75 out of every 1,000 children die before their first birthday, while 40 out of 1,000 children die before the age of one month and 35 out of 1,000 between one and 12 months.

Odimegwu said it was worrisome that the maternal mortality ratio in the country currently was put at 545 per 100,000 live births, while 52,900 women and girls die every year from pregnancy related causes.

“For every woman that dies, at least 20 others suffer morbidities such as obstetrics fistula, infections and disabilities.

“A lot has to be done, the reproductive health situation in the country demands a lot more holistic intervention.’’

According to Odimegwu, more attention needs to be paid to access to voluntary family planning services.