The following text summarizes the commitment made by Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate on behalf of the government of Nigeria at the London Summit on Family Planning on July 11, 2012. Nigeria commits to increase CPR by 2% every year to achieve 36% by 2018. This will avert 31,000 maternal deaths and 1.5 million child deaths and save more than 700,000 mothers from injuries or permanent illness due to childbirth.
POLICY & POLITICAL COMMITMENTS
Nigeria will act to improve equity and access to family planning for women with lowest socio-economic status which includes promoting policy formulation and actions that support maternal and child health at all levels, and partnering with the private sector, civil society, traditional and religious institutions, and development partners.
FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS
Nigeria commits to provide an additional US $8.35 million annually (current US $3 million) over the next four years (2016) for the procurement of reproductive health commodities. This is an increase of $33.4 million over the next four years, or 300%. Nigeria will work with the state and local governments to secure complementary budgets for family planning and reproductive health service delivery. Nigeria also plans to realize the health financing goals laid out under the National Strategic Health Development Plan, the institutionalization of the support for primary health services provided by the SURE Program, and meet or exceed the Abuja Declaration health financing commitments.
PROGRAM & SERVICE DELIVERY COMMITMENTS
Nigeria commits to train at least 3,700 community health workers (CHWs) to deliver the range of contraceptives, particularly long-acting and reversible methods (LARMs) and support task shifting so CHWs in rural areas can provide multiple methods. Nigeria plans to focus on education, especially education of girls, and build on the impact of market interventions. The Nigerian Government will improve the supply of contraceptives in the country through stimulating the private sector; lowering the price of contraceptives through removal of import duties and other regulatory barriers; and strengthening the in-country logistics system that ensures commodity availability at the facility level. On the demand side, Nigeria will increase awareness and demand for family planning services. Finally, Nigeria will use social marketing to mitigate socio-cultural barriers such as preference for large families, religious restrictions, and women’s lack of decision-making power.
