The African Health Budget Network (AHBN) and SAMASHA Uganda organized a stakeholders engagement on family planning and maternal and newborn health financing in Kano State. the meeting aimed to validate the accuracy of family planning budget data, deepen understanding of sector-wide approaches, and identify key advocacy needs to strengthen budget performance and promote accountability.
In his welcoming Addressed Dr. Musa M. Bello, State Focal Person, AHBN, emphasized the need for sustained investment in family planning and maternal and newborn health interventions to improve health outcomes in the state.
While delivering presentation Malam Aqibu Hamisu, Advocacy and Accountability Specialist at the African Health Budget Network (AHBN), explain Family Planning and Maternal Health Budget, Allocation, Releases, and Advocacy Issues.
The presentation emphasized and provided a comprehensive analysis of the current state of family planning and maternal health financing,highlighting key challenges and opportunities for improvement.
According to Malam Aqibu, inadequate budgetary allocation, delayed releases of funds, and lack of reliable data are major obstacles to effective family planning and maternal health programs.
Several issues were identified during the session,including the lack of reliable data on family planning and inadequate allocation and decreasing budgetary support for family planning and maternal health interventions.
To address these challenges, pharmacist Maimuna Y. Muhammad, Co-chair of Kano Lead Accountability Mechanism (KanSLAM), emphasized that advocacy is the solution and agreed that efforts should focus on:
– Securing a waiver for procurement of family planning commodities
– Improving data recording and reporting
– Ensuring release of approved funds for family planning programs
– Promoting task shifting and task sharing policy
– Providing continuous training for health personnel on contraceptive services
Pulse Time Nigeria reports that, the engagement Held at African Health Budget Network building,brought together representatives from various Ministries, Departments, Agencies , civil society organization and Media to discuss challenges and identify solutions to strengthen family planning and maternal health financing in the state
By engaging stakeholders and identifying key advocacy needs, AHBN and SAMASHA Uganda aim to strengthen family planning and maternal health financing in Kano State, ultimately improving health outcomes for its citizens.