By Victor Adeoti
A global network dedicated to family planning, FP2030 for the North, West and Central Africa Hub, in Abuja, has called on African leaders to prioritise family planning for health and economic development in the region.
According to the network, the importance and benefits of family planning cannot be overemphasised because the more family planning is promoted, the better the outcome for mothers and newborns.
The Managing Director of the organisation, Dr Alain Damiba, said this during a virtual interview with newsmen on Sunday.
Damiba said the organisation was working to change the narrative of family planning from being viewed solely as a health issue, to being recognised as a driver of economic development in the region.
He noted that family planning could not only improve health but also enhance women’s contribution to economic development.
“Our argument is that there are very positive outcomes when investments are made in family planning.
“When families are allowed to space and time pregnancies, it enables women to return to work, start businesses or remain in school.
“This benefits countries in terms of economic development and increased workforce participation, as women are able to return to school or work and contribute to national development.
“With these arguments, we are trying to explain to governments that there are genuinely positive outcomes to expect when investments are made to support family planning,” he said.
The managing director, however, said family planning was facing budget constraints in Africa and globally, calling for stakeholders’ support to ensure easy access to family planning in the region.
According to him, family planning is not being funded as it should be due to competing priorities such as climate change, employment, economic development, agriculture and extreme violence.
Damiba said the organisation was working closely with civil society organisations and governments in the region to ensure that, despite fiscal constraints, family planning remained a priority.
He said the organisation, under its “Made Possible by Family Planning” campaign, was targeting $1 billion globally to fund family planning.
“Our vision and mandate are to work closely with countries that have made FP2030 commitments in our region to support them in identifying the best ways to finance their family planning programmes.
“So, we are working with committed governments to raise funds both at the national level through domestic resource mobilisation, and from donors, including official development assistance, as well as bilateral and multilateral funding.
“This is to help countries combine these resources to continue improving access to family planning and achieve the desired impact by 2030,” he said.
The managing director said that when women are able to space and time their pregnancies, there is a higher likelihood that both mother and baby would be healthier.
“This has been demonstrated by many studies. Several studies have shown that promoting family planning can reduce maternal mortality by 30 to 35 per cent,” he added.
He said the organisation was also engaging the private sector, in collaboration with the public sector, to fund and promote family planning in the region.
Damiba added that communities were being involved in promoting access to family planning through community health workers.
“We believe family planning is an investment that brings significant returns for countries.
“Through family planning, everyone is enabled to participate in the economy because of the ability to space and time pregnancies, allowing people to achieve their individual goals.
“This campaign is about changing the narrative, reaching out to new partners and securing more resources to increase access to family planning,” he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Ayodeji Alabi
