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Association demands inclusion of FP services into Health Insurance Schemes

Association demands inclusion of FP services into Health Insurance Schemes

By Mustapha Yauri
Reproduction
Abuja, Nov. 7, 2018 (NAN) The Association for the Advancement of Family Planning (AAFP) has called on the Federal Government and other stakeholders to include Family Planning (FP) services into Health Insurance Schemes to scale-up access to FP and other reproductive health services.
AAFP is the umbrella of CSOs promoting reproductive healthcare services in Nigeria.
The group made the appeal during a media roundtable hosted by MamaYe Evidence for Action ahead of the Dec. 4 National FP Conference in Abuja.
The roundtable was also in preparation for the Annual Population Lecture Series (APLS).
Dr Mojisola Odeku, the Country Director, Nigeria Urban and Reproductive Health Initiative II (NURHI 2), said contraceptives and other FP services should be part of the minimum healthcare package by the health insurance providers.
She noted that full coverage of FP services will open opportunities for health insurance enrolees to access the services at private facilities at affordable rate.
Odeku said for Nigeria to increase its contraceptive prevalence rate health insurance providers must provide full FP services beyond counselling, coverage of ante natal services and deliveries.
Earlier, Dr Ejike Orji, the Chairman, Technical and Management Committee, AAFP, said the 5th NFPC would hold between Dec. 4 and 6.
He said there would be three pre-conferences on interfaith, youth and women, while the main conference would focus on investment, innovation and inclusiveness.
According to Orji, “we want to see more investment, and new ways of doing things towards scaling up FP uptake in Nigeria’’.
“National Population Commission says that Nigeria has about 198 million people; in 2006 Nigeria was about 140 million which we added 58 million people in 12 years.
“It is a fastest population growing trajectory in recent times, we are in serious trouble and demographic crises unless we watch it,’’ he said.
He said another issue the conference would discuss would be inclusiveness as an effort to ensure that no one was left behind in planning services.
He said the association was worried that not much investment was made at sub-national level, adding “we want to see more commitment at that area’’.
“The federal government has done a lot; it provided and released four million dollars in the 2017 budget into the national family planning basket.
“Even though it was not enough, it is a great departure from zero allocation,’’ he said.
Malam Muhammad Tola, Co-Chairman, Media and Publicity sub-Committee of the conference, appealed to stakeholders to empower journalists and media houses to enable them focus on FP issues and engage in investigative journalism. (NAN)
AM/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Only 1 in 5 public health facilities offer FP services – Association

Only 1 in 5 public health facilities offer FP services – Association
By Talatu Maiwada
Planning
Abuja, April 9, 2018 (NAN) The Association for the Advancement of Family Planning (AAFP) says only one in five or 20 per cent of public health facilities in Nigeria offer Family Planning (FP) services and products.
Prof. Oladapo Ladipo, President, AAFP, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.
Ladipo said that the low level of contraceptive use contributed to poor maternal and child health status among Nigerians and also accounts for high total fertility rate of almost six children per woman.
He added that the high total fertility rate of almost six children per woman in Nigeria impacted negatively on the high population growth rate of 3.18 per cent.
“Evidence from the demographic and health survey indicates that Nigeria has not recorded significant improvement in its FP uptake over the past 10 years.
“Contraceptive prevalence rate has remained the same at 10 per cent for the past 10 years with a marked difference between the urban cities at 17 per cent and rural areas at six per cent.
“There is also a wide regional variation of contraceptive prevalence rate across the geopolitical zones.
“25 per cent of married women aged 15 to 49 years in South West currently use modern contraceptive, while less than three per cent of women in the North East are current users of modern contraceptive methods,’’ he said.
Ladipo defined FP as a way that allowed individuals and couples anticipate and attain their desired number of children with spacing and timing of their births through the use of contraceptive methods.
According to him, FP has been universally recognised as one of the key pillars and most cost-effective means of achieving safe motherhood.
The AAFP president noted that the woman’s ability to space and limit her pregnancies had a direct impact on her health and wellbeing, the outcome of each pregnancy and consequently, the economy.
Ladipo called on the Federal Government to increase fund allocation to health as evidence from research showed that successful FP programmes could contribute to about 30 per cent reduction in maternal and child mortality. (NAN)
TIM/COF/MST
Edited by Oluyinka Fadare/Muhammad Suleiman Tola