To ensure every Nigerian woman of reproductive age has access to family planning supplies, including modern contraceptives, the Founder and President/Emeritus of the Association for Reproductive and Family Health, Prof Oladapo Ladipo, has urged the Federal Government to allocate at least $1 for every woman of reproductive age to fund the supplies.
The renowned obstetrician-gynaecologist stated that proposed funding would amount to about $50m for the estimated 50 million women of reproductive age in Nigeria, instead of the current $3m to $4m committed by the government
Ladipo stated that the increased funding was necessary to address reproductive health inequality and ensure that family planning commodities were available, especially to women in rural communities.
The renowned gynaecologist also noted that the country’s reliance on donor funding for contraceptive procurement and distribution was a major challenge, emphasising that the government must fund its family planning services in light of the reduction in donor support and funding cuts.
Ladipo, a member of the Board of Trustees and Council of the West African College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, made the call while speaking at the 5th Congress of the Association of West African Societies of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and WACOG in Lagos.
He said, “Now, my position is this. Government should allocate at least one dollar per woman of reproductive age for reproductive health commodities. It’s not too much for government. There are about 50 million women of reproductive age, so we’re talking about $50 million instead of $4 million. So we need to see that the government does more because of reproductive health inequality and injustice that we talked about today.
“Our maternal deaths are so high. Nigeria is rated as the worst place to be pregnant; that is shameful. Our MMR of 996 per 100,000 is shameful, when a place like Israel is two. It will be your generation to fight the fight to ensure that women can access good quality reproductive health services.”
