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Nasarawa State Govt partner NGOs to tackle family planning barriers

Nasarawa State Govt partner NGOs to tackle family planning barriers

NAN-HG-8

Barriers
By Awayi Kuje
Akwanga, May 11, 2017 (NAN) The Nasarawa State Government is collaborating with two NGOs to tackle Family Planning (FP) barriers and reduce maternal mortality in the state.

The NGOs are Pathfinder International Nigeria (PIN) and Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH).

A PACFaH Facilitator, Mrs Aanu Rotimi, said at a three-day workshop held on Thursday in Akwanga, that the major strategy to reduce this mortality incidence was to address FP barriers.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop, organised by the three collaborating parties, had the theme: “Development of Nasarawa Costed Implementation Plan for Family Planning’’.

“The aim of organising this workshop is to develop a plan that will be implementable and usable to encourage family planning and thereby reduce maternal and child mortality rate among women in the state,’’ said the facilitator.

Rotimi identified ignorance, cultural and religious beliefs, funding, political will, inaccessibility as major factors affecting family planning, hence the need for the development plan.

She urged the state government to give family planning programmes the most needed priority through adequate funding and to ensure that family planning contraceptives and other services were available in public facilities.

“This workshop is a stakeholders’ engagement which brings together health experts, stakeholders from various ministries, agencies, the media, civil society, NGOs to encourage women and girls to embrace family planning programmes, considering its enormous benefits.

“The importance of family planning cannot be over-emphasised, it strengthens the health of the woman directly and the man indirectly.

“It also saves the lives of mothers and makes significant contributions to reduce maternal mortality rate among women,” Rotimi stressed.

Mr Yemi Osanyin, the Pathfinder facilitator, underscored the need to remove barriers in the way of women and girls accessing family planning services.

Osanyin said that the survival of women was very key to the economic development of any nation.

“Family planning enables the couple prepare adequately for pregnancies and children, and also enables sexually active women and girls to protect themselves against unwanted pregnancies,’’ he said.

Earlier in a welcome address, Dr Madawa Absalom, a Director with the state Primary Health Care Development Agency, said the state government had invested a lot in the health sector.

Absalom said this was in a bid to better the health and wellbeing of its residents.

He reiterated the state government’s commitment to partner any organisation interested in addressing problems confronting family planning and other health problems in the state.

Absalom said the government was keen to ensure the overall development of the state and the country at large through protection of its population. (NAN)
AKW/COF/MST
Edited by Oluyinka Fadare/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Kano to partner NGOs to achieve zero HIV prevalence

Kano Govt to partner NGOs to achieve zero HIV prevalence

NAN-H-62

Prevalence

By Muntari Tukur

Kano, April 10, 2017 (NAN) Dr Usman Bashir, the Director-General, Kano State Agency for the Control of AIDS (KSACA), says the agency will partner with any group to achieve zero HIV prevalence in the state.

This is contained in a statement signed by the KSACA Public Relations Officer, Malam Usman Gwadabe, a copy of which was made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Monday.

According to the statement, Bashir made the remark when a delegation led by Dr Usman Gebi from Friends for Global Health Initiative in Nigeria (FGHIN) paid him a courtesy visit in his office.

He said the benefit of partnership with FGHIN on provision of comprehensive care to people living with HIV, could not be overemphasised, adding that their support had alleviated the sufferings of many patients.

The director-general told the delegation that the partnership between the two organisations was timely considering the fact that the present administration under Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje was committed to reform and upgrade healthcare delivery in the state.

He also told the delegation that a comprehensive HIV Development Strategic Plan for five year (2017- 2022) has been drafted, assuring that the agency will ensure its successful implementation.

He said within one-year of his temure, about 2,000 personnel were trained on HCT, PMCTC, Monitoring and Evaluation as well as health workers on safeguard programmes.

The leader of the delegation had earlier commended KSACA for initiating a number of programmes within a short period of time.

“We are here on three purposes, one to appreciate the state government’s effort for sustaining public healthcare delivery effectively.

“Secondly to inform the management that the five-year FGHIN programme in the state is ending this year and hope that the activities of these years will be properly documented for presentation to funding agency,’’ he said.

Gebi expressed hope that the director-general would ensure that patients receive the needed services being provided by FGHIN before the new partner arrives.

He assured that ART drugs would be supplied to the centres that would last up to first quarter of 2018. (NAN)

MTM/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

General news

Rivers Deputy Gov. task NGOs on development

Rivers Deputy Gov. task NGOs on development

NAN-H-100

Development

By Azubuike Okeh

Port Harcourt, Jan. 18, 2017 (NAN) The Deputy Governor of Rivers, Dr Ipalibo Banigo, has charged Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the state to be more focused towards undertaking development programmes.

Banigo gave the task when members of the Youth Coalition for Good Governance visited her in Government House, Port Harcourt, on Wednesday.

She said that the Nyesom Wike-led government was ready to accept contributions from patriotic organisations in the society.

“As a government, we are ready to collaborate with organisations that are focused and development-oriented in the interest of the society,’’ she said.

Represented by Mr Emmanuel Ibama, her Senior Special Assistant on Security, Banigo also said that the government was committed towards promoting the welfare of Rivers youth and women.

According to her, the state government’s amnesty programme for repentant cultists and the micro credit scheme for youths are part of such efforts initiated by the government.

The deputy governor called on youths in the state to shun violence and harness their God-given potential in order to be meaningful to the society.

Nesides, she called on NGOs in the state to oblige the state government their contributions to ensure effective delivery of democracy dividends.

Speaking earlier, State Chairman of the group, Mr Emmanuel Hart, said the body was focused on promoting constructive engagement with stakeholders for good governance and gender equality.

He commended the state government for all people-oriented programmes so far undertaken, saying “we urge you to include more youths in your programmes’’. (NAN)

AZU/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola