Rivers Spends N126m On Contraceptives, Birth Control Accessories

Rivers State Government may have stoked controversy after it approved the procurement and distribution of contraceptives, condoms and other family planning consumables to support government family planning programmes.
According to a Government House press statement, the approval was given by Governor Siminalayi Fubara for the last mile distribution of the essential family planning (FP) commodities. It said the governor has also approved funding for capacity building of family planning service providers and community mobilization for demand generation.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Oreh, who confirmed the development while speaking to newsmen in Port Harcourt on Monday, 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;” as well as “shorter-acting and barrier methods like Male condoms, and Depo-Provera, the 3-monthly contraceptive injections for reproductive and family health”.
She said, “Family Planning has been shown to contribute to the reduction of maternal, infant, and child mortality, as well as accelerate economic growth and development.”
The commissioner said that the impact of the latest government action will include averting unintended pregnancies, preventing abortions, and averting maternal and child deaths.
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”.
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, Nigeria aims to achieve a CPR of 27 percent in line with international development goals, including the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) 3 and FP2030.
The commissioner commended the governor for approving and releasing N126million 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,” she said.
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.
Dr 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.
“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.”
Dr. Oreh also thanked the 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) for the partnership they have built with the state government in the family planning programmes.
“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,” she added.