P/HARCOURT (Sundiata Post) – Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has broken fresh grounds in the healthcare sector funding with the approval and release of N126 million for the procurement and last mile distribution of essential family planning (FP) commodities.

He has also taken the lead, among the comity of states, in providing funding for capacity building of family planning service providers and community mobilization for demand generation.

The State Commissioner for Health, Adaeze Chidinma Oreh, who disclosed this to newsmen in Port Harcourt, said that the released funds will cover the procurement of “long-acting contraceptive agents like Mirena intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants (Levoplant contraceptives) for women who desire to space their births for longer periods”.

Oreh continued that the funds will cover “shorter-acting and barrier methods like Male condoms, and Depo-Provera, the three-monthly contraceptive injections for reproductive and family health.”

“According to available data from the 2018 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), the current National Contraceptive Prevalence rate (CPR) stands at 17 percent, while Rivers State is at 19.6 percent, representing 2 percent performance rate above the national ranking/index.

“Already, the country aims to achieve a CPR of 27 percent in line with international development goals, including the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) 3 and FP2030.”

The Health Commissioner continued: “Specifically, I wish to commend His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, for approving and releasing the sum of N126 million for the procurement and last mile distribution of essential family planning commodities, in addition to capacity building of FP service providers, and community mobilization for demand generation.

“The Rivers State Government under the dynamic and able leadership of Governor Siminalayi Fubara has demonstrated leadership and commitment by facilitating this unprecedented release for the procurement of family planning (FP) commodities to further address the wide gap in funding for FP commodity procurement.”

According to the health commissioner, “This is with a view to increasing the modern contraceptive prevalence rate, reducing the unmet need for family planning and consequently reducing maternal, infant, and child mortality in Rivers State.

“The impact will include averting unintended pregnancies, preventing abortions, and averting maternal and child deaths.”

While praising the governor’s strong support and commitment to accelerating investments in the health sector with the aim of bridging existing gaps in healthcare infrastructure and services, Oreh said, “I am delighted to express my heartfelt appreciation to His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, Governor of Rivers State, for his unwavering commitment to improving the health outcomes of our dear state. His leadership and guidance have been instrumental in steering the health sector towards excellence”.

She explained that, “Family Planning has been shown to contribute to the reduction of maternal, infant, and child mortality, as well as accelerate economic growth and development”.

Giving further details, the commissioner emphasized that, “Access to contraceptives is recognized to play a key role in the achievement of national and international development goals including the Sustainable Development Goal 3, FP2030 targets and objectives and harnessing the demographic dividend. For every naira invested in family planning and maternal health, the benefits to families and societies are exponential.”

Oreh said that, “To ensure the effective utilization of these commodities, His Excellency has also supported residential capacity-building training for health workers on the use of these commodities, as well as community mobilization for demand generation.

“Additionally, the state will be supporting FP last mile commodity distributions from the State Central Medical Stores to the 331 facilities that offer FP services in Rivers State”, she noted.

The State Commissioner for Health stressed that, “In Nigeria, sustainable financing for family planning is acknowledged as the responsibility of all three tiers of government (Federal, States and LGAs). However, the Federal Government has hitherto been responsible for most of the domestic resources contributed for procurement of contraceptives.

“In recent times, due to insufficient resources, funding gaps for procurement have widened significantly, leading to massive stock-outs of Family Planning commodities in health facilities.”

She said that in an effort to close the yawning funding gaps, the proactive and pragmatic Governor Siminalayi Fubara, has deliberately invested this significant amount of money to address the challenges caused by the insufficient resources in health sector funding with a view to improving the healthcare needs of the people, especially those who are vulnerable.

“We thank His Excellency, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, for his vision and dedication to the health and well-being of the people of Rivers State. Sir, we are grateful for your leadership and look forward to your continued commitment towards achieving our health goals.

“We are also thankful for the recent strong advocacy efforts of partners such as World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), DKT International, MSI Nigeria Reproductive Choices, John Snow International (JSI), Society for Family Health (SFH), and White Ribbon Alliance (WRA).”

She assured that, “Under the able leadership of Governor Fubara, the Rivers State Government will continue to strive towards the reduction of maternal, infant, and child mortality, thus accelerating economic growth and development.

“We seek to be a State where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.”