By Abubakar Jimoh
Members of PACFaH with management of NAN (from left: 2nd, 4th, 6th & 8th) during the visit in Lagos
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has said it would deploy its
vibrant communication facilities and strategies to support Partnership for
Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH) in the coalition’s ongoing
advocacy to identify and encourage decision makers on innovative strategies and
mechanisms to forecast funding needs for effective child and family health in
Nigeria.
This was made known by the Head of Lagos Operations, News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr. Joe Bankole, while receiving members of PACFaH led
by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), during an advocacy
visit to the Agency in Lagos on Wednesday.
Bankole said the Agency has the mandate to serve the public
and promote such important group as PACFaH through its enabling network and facilities,
urging members of the coalition to make maximum use of the facilities in their
advocacy for child and family health in the country.
Speaking during the visit, Program Manager, CISLAC, Chioma
Kanu, explained that PACFaH is a partnership of eight (8) Nigerian NGOs working
together to encourage government, at national and state levels, to identify
innovative mechanisms to provide adequate funding for four (4) important areas
in child and family health such as Routine Immunization, Family Planning, management
of childhood killer diseases, and Nutrition.
She observed that low priority for the four issues have
intensified maternal and child mortality in the country. The Program Manager reiterated
that Nigeria is ranked second globally in malnutrition, calling for robust media
advocacy to prompt effective implementation of National Strategic Plan of
Action (NSPAN) and creation of budget line on nutrition at all levels. The documents according to her, has
identified nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions with
measurable targets to be achieved in its five-year costed plans.
“Malnourished children have an increased risk of disability
and premature death and are highly predisposed to infectious diseases. Nigeria
has one of the highest burdens of malnutrition in Africa and globally. We are
calling on government to implement the NSPAN, with focus on maternal and child nutrition
component of the plan; promptly and timely release of funds for maternal and
child nutrition; and increase accountability and management of released funds
at all levels,” Kanu urged.
Also, the Chairman, Association for the Advancement of Family
Planning (AAFP), Dr. Ejike Oji, lamented that childhood killer diseases have
become prevalent in the country for lack adequate care for the children, owing
to persistent death of mothers during or after child birth. He explained that a
woman’s ability to space limit her pregnancies has a direct impact on her
health and well-being as well as the outcome of each pregnancy.
The Chairman reiterated that Family Planning has direct
impacts on the health of the family and grossly the economy of a nation as a
whole. He urged the media to place fund mobilization for family planning in the
front burner of public discourse, stressing sustained analyses of the strategic
contents of the Nigeria Family Planning Blueprint and the Costed Implementation
Plans.
“We advise federal government to: provide adequate required
funds for FP commodity procurement as recommended in the Nigeria Family
Planning Blueprints; sustain the existing Free Family Planning Commodity Policy
in all public health facilities; ensure uninterrupted supply of consumables, particularly
to the poor women in the communities; and judicious utilization of funds
allocated for procurement of Family Planning commodities and consumables,” he
added.
Calling for strategic media advocacy in the management of
childhood killer diseases, Dr. Oji also stated that pneumonia and diarrheal
diseases remain the major killers of children, with no fewer than 2.1 million
Under-5 years and neonatal deaths occurring in Nigeria in 2014. He maintained that
Nigeria signed into 15 essential commodities in the United Nations Commission
on Life-Saving Commodities (UNCoLSC) recommendations, among which three are itemized
for the survival of the Under-5 death. In his words, the recommended commodities
for the survival of the Under-5 include: Amoxicillin antibiotic in dispersible tablet
form (amoxicillin DT) as first line treatment in the management of childhood
killer pneumonia disease; and Zinc and Oral Rehydration Salt Solution (Zn/ORS)
both for the treatment of childhood diarrheal disease.
The Chairman urged the media to intensify advocacy to the
Nigerian Government to adopt, implement and scale-up the joint WHO/UNICEF
revised guidelines and the United Nations Commission on Life-Saving Commodities
(UNCoLSC) recommendation on Childhood Pneumonia by listing Amoxicillin
dispersible tablet as the First Line Drug for the management of the disease in
the Standard Treatment Guidelines and the Essential Medicines List which are
currently undergoing revision.
He further charged the media Agency to advocate to the
relevant Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies such as the Ministry
of Health, Finance, Economic Planning, and Accountant General to create
specific budget lines for the quantification and procurement of the recommended
commodities (Amoxicillin DT, and Zinc/LO-ORS) at all levels.
Giving the states’ specific cases of fund mobilization for
Family Planning, the Snr. Progam Officer, Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria
(HERFON), Aanu Rotimi, said that although Oyo state has made considerable
progress in health, socio-cultural and economic development, however, some key indicators
have raised alarm over increased in maternal mortality in the state from 135
per 100, 000 live births to 143 per 100, 000 in 2010. She observed huge gaps in
the demand and supply of Family Planning services, which would have helped
reducing unplanned pregnancies and the risks associated with unsafe abortions,
thereby reducing maternal mortality in the state.
She said: “Oyo state has adopted many existing national
health policies including Reproductive Health Policy, but implementation of these
policies as a result of inadequate and non-release of fund allocated to Family
Planning has been a major challenge in the state. Also in Kaduna state,
legislative and executive institutions have been creating bottlenecks and
significant barriers in the process of budgetary allocation and release due to
poor understanding of the relevance of family planning in socio-economic
development.”
Similarly, Snr. Program Officer, Community Health and
Research Initiative (CHR) Ndidi Chukwu stressed that following the pronouncement
by World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring Nigeria free of polio virus, Routine
Immunisation has faced several challenges arising from imminent shortage of
funding for vaccines, inadequate budget allocation, delay and piecemeal release
of funds for RI, and poor capacity of civil society organizations to work together
to monitor and provide feedback on the effectiveness of RI programs and
finances.
She charged the media on joint advocacy to demand
accountability for adequate funding for Routine Immunization both at national
and state level; and Nigerian government on immunization vaccine procurement
increase and timely release of funds allocated for 2016 and 2017.
“We urge the media on prioritized reports to raise awareness
on the need domestic funding by Nigerian Government to sustain Routine
Immunization and avert resurgence of polio virus. As Nigeria graduates from
GAVI support by 2022, the media can ask the Government on its preparedness to
fund RI and how it can take leadership, commitment and capacity to identify and
plan for sustainable sources of funding for RI beyond 2022,” Chukwu requested.
