The premises of the Kwara State Ministry of Health yesterday was agog with festive moods as women and other family planning stakeholders witnessed the launch of the family planning blueprint for Kwara State. It was an official presentation of family planning blueprint to the state Ministry of Health by the Advocacy Core Group of Nigeria(ACGN).

Launching the blueprint at the cooperative society hall, Ministry of Health, the state Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Sulaiman Atolagbe Alege observed that Kwara State is doing its best in healthcare delivery which is why Non Governmental Organizations(NGO) like to partner with the state government in health sector.

He said, government is ready to support family planning project to reduce maternal mortality rate in the state by 2018 which is in line with the blue print’s objectives.

Echoing the Minister of Health on Federal Government's attitude to family planning, Atolagbe stressed that Universal Health coverage is very important with mothers and child as the beneficiaries. Talking on the importance of family planning, he stressed further that family is an essential pillar of safe motherhood, which help to avert high risk pregnancies and the reduction of maternal death in the society.

The commissioner stated that the present administration has invested a lot to provide state of-art-equipment in all the state hospitals for the betterment of Kwarans. Atolagbe however promised that government will release funds budgeted for family planning so as to achieve the targeted objectives of reducing mortality rate in the state.

In her contribution, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr.(Mrs.) Asiat Ayinke Saka who was represented by Head of Department, Health, Ministry of Women Affair, Hajia Aminat Yahaya said the cardinal objective of the policy thrust of the present administration is to ensure that citizens have unhindered access to qualitative and affordable health care delivery.

To achieve this noble objective, according to her, government helps to accelerate food provision and other facilities for the families. "Gone are those days when the number of wives and children's a man has signifies his wealth and importance in the community. But now, every man must produce the number of mouth's he can cater for, so as not to breed miscreants, vagabonds and hoodlums for lack of proper care and attention" she said.

Moreso, the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative(NURHI), Project Director, Mrs. Moji Odeku who appraised the blue print for family planning said it is an integral part of the Nigerian family planning which aim at putting in place a broad articulated strategy which holistically address existing gap in the provision of high quality family planning services to the Nigerians of reproductive age. Odeku who spoke through NURHI adviser, Mrs Charity Ibeawuchi said the blue print was developed under the guidance and oversight of the Federal Ministry of Health with support from donors and implementing partners.

According to her, the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate(CPR) in Kwara State is only 26 per cent in which the unmet family planning is about 30 per cent. The project director noted that the programme aim to scale up the level of contractive prevalence rate from 26 per cent to 30 per cent in the year 2018. She however commended the efforts of the ACGN for working immensely towards achieving targeted objectives in the state.

In his opening remark, the chairman of Advocacy Core Group of Nigerian,(ACGN) Alhaji Ajibola Abdulwahab said the occasion could not have been more auspicious because of the NURHI's departure from Kwara last year March. Ajibola recommended that the gathering that NURHI played significant role in family planning such as creation of awareness, increasing the demand and supply for family planning services, advocacy to religious and traditional leaders for their support for family planning.

It also includes training and retraining of the family planning personnel and other stakeholders, renovation of selected clinics and provision of commodities to both clinical and non clinical facilities in the 5 local governments of its operation.

Commending NURHI, he said while NURHI established and nurtured 3 bodies in dependency such as sustainable family planning providers (SFPPA), community Mobilizers Association(CMA) and Advocacy Core Group of Nigeria(ACGN), these groups continued to function after NURHI’s departure.

"Distinguished guests, the effects of NURHI's year operation in Kwara State can not be over emphasized. It is on this basis the ACGN have been trained and given necessary incentives waved into action. As a matter of fact, ACGN has made a remarkable achievements on one year of independent existence" he said. "This indeed reflected on the 2016 budget as our Advocacy for a separate budget line for family planning come to stay. Thus, last year N2.2 million was a separate budget line for family planning activities though this is inadequate, the ACGN will continue to advocate for an increment as well as immediate release" he said.

Also, the Director of Reproductive Health Family Planning Pathfinder, Mallam Habeeb Abdulsalam said that pathfinder are into support of the Bill Gate projects in which they normally work with ACGN to provide the director and frame work for reaching the state contraceptive prevalent rate.

He commended the Kwara State for taking leadership in reaching this goal/target through effective planning implementation and coordination. Habeeb said further that the presentation of blue prints is the first stage which will no doubt be challenging but with commitment and participation of all partners, the objectives of the blue print will be surely achievable, noting that the purpose of the plan is to accelerate achievement of 39.9 per cent CPR target by 2018 set by Kwara State.

According to him, the blue print will set direction and guide the process of measuring progress towards concrete mile stones, out comes and impacts. He therefore called on the state government to release the budgeted fund for family planning programmes in the state, so as to achieve the goals of reducing maternal and infants mortality in the state.