Stakeholders seek innovation to improve family planning funding in Lagos

To scale up access and uptake of family planning services among women and adolescents in Lagos state, stakeholders in maternal and child health in the state have called for strategic innovation, networking and alliances to improve funding.

In their various presentations at an event to commemorate the 2019 World Contraception Day in the state, the stakeholders identified major barriers to access to family planning services in the state to include the non-release of funds for consumables and logistics- transportation of family planning commodities to health facilities where they are needed.

Others are shortage of health workers, non-functional primary healthcare centres, poor health workers’ attitude and lack of youth friendly centres, among others.

In his presentation, a stakeholder and Chairman of Public Health Sustainable Advocacy Initiative (PHSAI), Ayo Adebusoye, urged the state government to prioritise family planning while calling for more advocacy to encourage policy makers and local government chairmen to increase funding for family planning.

Adebusoye, at the event organised by PHSAI in collaboration with the Media Advocacy Working Group (MAWG) and support from

Pathfinder International identified funding as key to family planning, stressing that though the Lagos state government has a specific budget line for family planning, the non-release of approved budget has remained a major challenge.

He maintained that poor funding is top on the list of challenges confronting family planning services in the state.

To address the funding gaps, he suggested that “we need to work innovatively, using strategic alliances and networking so that we can improve the family planning space in Lagos state.

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“We need to carry out more advocacies to local government chairmen to let them know about the importance of family planning and the need for their financial commitment.

“Local governments in the state have no excuse not to increase family planning budget and also release same because they now get monies directly from the federal government,” he added.