HERFON, CSO’s Seek Dedicated Budget Line For Family Planning In FCT

Stakeholders at the Health Sector Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON), Capacity Strengthening Workshop for CSOs, and Media on the integration of budget line for Family planning have advocated for a dedicated budget line for Family Planning (FP) into the 2025 appropriated budget of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

At the event in Abuja, the Executive Secretary, HERFON Dr Celestine Okorie noted that Family Planning services have many challenges such as inadequate funding and lack of Family Planning commodities.

He expressed worry over the rate at which the population of Nigeria was growing, noting that Nigeria’s population was more than its resources.

”You can imagine our population in 2050, you can see the poverty the country is experiencing now, in terms of security, so there is a need for us to control our population growth.”

According to him,” About population growth, there is the need to talk about family planning, talk about access to contraceptives for women, both in terms of commodities and services, but the challenge we have is that over the years, family planning has been driven by donors, and the times are changing, there is what we call donors fatigue, the donors are getting tired of donating, they want to also demonstrate that we can contribute to our program by budgeting for health.”

”Nigeria itself has not been playing its role leaving all responsibility to development partners, funding family planning programs in Nigeria,” he added.

The Program Manager (HERFON), Dr Opeyemi Adeosun explained that the Federal Government of Nigeria made a commitment under the FP2030 document to invest at least one percent of the health budget to Family Planning (FP).

Dr. Adeosun noted that In the 2024 appropriated budget, the Nigerian government created a specific budget line for FP for the first time., adding that the dedication of a specific budget line of one percent of the federal health budget to FP may however not achieve results.

”Desired mobilization of domestic resources for the sexual and reproductive health of women and adolescents across the country unless the policy is similarly implemented at the subnational levels (States and LGAs).”

He said there was a need to domesticate the policy at the subnational levels, especially at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the seat of the Federal government which has no dedicated budget line for FP.

”This requires the conduct of strategic advocacy to get the buy-in of key stakeholders, policymakers, and all members of the National Assembly (NASS) Committee in the FCT who play important roles in the budget-making process.”

Dr Opeyemi Adeosun therefore called on the National Assembly (NASS) Committee on FCT to approve, a dedicated budget line of at least one percent of the year 2026 annual health budget to Family Planning for the benefit of Women of Child Bearing Age in the FCT by October 2025.

Other stakeholders who spoke at the meeting agreed to raise awareness about the health risks associated with low use of modern contraceptives and promote behavioural change among women of reproductive age.