Network Wants Unhindered Access To Family Planning Services

The Network of Reproductive Health Journalists of Nigeria (NRHJN) has called for unhindered access to Family Planning (FP) Services for Nigerian women as a means of empowering women and girls in the country.
In a statement signed by the organisation’s National Secretary, Yinka Shokumbi, as part of events marking the 2019 edition of the International Women’s Day (IWD), NRHJN said access to F P Services will be the first step towards attaining the Nigerian theme of the 2019 celebration: “Balance for Better”.
Towards this end, the statement said, NRHJN “advocates for innovative programmes and ways that seek to ensure no woman was left behind when it comes to access to FP Services, particularly modern contraceptives”.
Consequently, the organisation has taken it upon itself to advocate that all incoming governors across 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) make provision for the required budget for FP.
“The NRHJN is making a strong case that all in-coming governments must consciously provide budget lines for FP, to be compulsorily released timely, for the purpose of ensuring services were provided at the Primary Healthcare level”, the statement noted.
Beyond this, the statement continued, “Balance for Better” also means that there must be deliberate effort to bridge the gender disparity gap in such areas as education, empowerment opportunity for both men and women to thrive in all fields of endeavour.
In accordance with the 2019 theme, therefore, NRHJN called on President Mohammadu Buhari to ensure that women “are given a fair share of ministerial appointments and other elective positions.”
According to the chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the 5th Nigeria Family Planning Conference, 2018, Dr Ejike Oji, Balance for Better “must start with access to FP Services.
“FP Services is a right and the only way we can make sure women and girls, and men too, exercise this right, is to empower them to make those critical decisions based on their choices in an atmosphere free of coercion”, he said.

Sogbeba Dokubo