Healthcare delivery: Fubara takes steps to ensure effective birth control in oil-rich Rivers

● We want to be a State where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe says Health Commissioner

By PHC Telegraph

Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Chidinma Oreh unveiling the family planning commodities procured from the funding of the State Government at the Central Medical Stores in Port Harcourt, last weekend.

 

The Rivers State Government has paid one hundred and twenty-six million for the acquisition of family planning aides which are expected to enable couples plan the size of their families through effective birth control mechanisms.

Dr Chidinma Oreh, Rivers Commissioner for Health disclosed on Monday that the State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara has indeed broken new grounds particularly in funding healthcare.

Oreh hinted that the Governor has seemingly taken the lead in providing funding intended to enhance the capacity of various family planning service providers in the State and similarly ensure the effective mobilization of would-be beneficiaries in communities who are expected to adopt scientific family planning strategies.

Addressing newsmen in Port Harcourt, the Health Commissioner said that the funds released by government will cover the procurement of “long-acting contraceptive agents like Mirena intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants (Levoplant contraceptives) for women who desire to space their births for longer periods”.

She also spoke about “shorter-acting and barrier methods like male condoms, and Depo-Provera, the 3-monthly contraceptive injections for reproductive and family health”.

The move by the Fubara administration to assist families to raise children that they can take care of is equally coming against the backdrop of efforts that are being made to provide efficient healthcare services in the Rivers State.

World’s Growing Population:

 

“The world’s population”, the United Nations has noted in a report, “is more than three times larger than it was in the mid-twentieth century.

“The global human population reached 8.0 billion in mid-November 2022 from an estimated 2.5 billion people in 1950, adding 1 billion people since 2010 and 2 billion since 1998.

“The world’s population is expected to increase by nearly 2 billion persons in the next 30 years, from the current 8 billion to 9.7 billion in 2050 and could peak at nearly 10.4 billion in the mid-2080s.”

The world body observes that “this dramatic growth has been driven largely by increasing numbers of people surviving to reproductive age, the gradual increase in human lifespan, increasing urbanization, and accelerating migration.

“Major changes in fertility rate have accompanied this growth. These trends will have far-reaching implications for generations to come.”

Mounting Concerns Over Population Explosion In Rivers: 

Across the nation, there are growing concerns associated with what is being seen as the adverse impact that a surging national population put at more than 200 million people is slowly creating.

Between 1950 and 2022, Nigeria’s population grew to 218 million. In 2024, it has grown to 229,152,217 and there firm indications that it may continue to record a steady growth at a rate of approximately 3.4% annually.

With a population of 5,198,716 as of the 2006 census and 7,234,973 in 2023 according to Wikipedia, Rivers State is the 8th most populous state in Nigeria.

In 2024, the projected population statistics for Rivers State is 8,161,972,572, meaning that more than a million people have added to the growing number of citizens.

This would mean that in contemplating to introduce birth control measures at this time, the Fubara administration is planning to curtail the State’s rapidly escalating population.

Data obtained from the 2018 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), show that the current national contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) stands at 17% while Rivers State is at 19.6%.

Comparatively, statistics garnered from the same source indicates that in terms of performance, Rivers has a 2% performance rate above the national ranking/index.

There are strong signs that the country is aiming to achieve a CPR of 27% in line with international development goals, including the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) and FP2030.

Why Fubara Deserves A Pat On The Back:

“Specifically, I wish to commend His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, for approving and releasing the sum of N126 million for the procurement and last mile distribution of essential family planning commodities, in addition to capacity building of FP service providers, and community mobilization for demand generation.

“The Rivers State Government under the dynamic and able leadership of Governor Siminalayi Fubara has demonstrated leadership and commitment by facilitating this unprecedented release for the procurement of family planning (FP) commodities to further address the wide gap in funding for FP commodity procurement”, Oreh remarked

Oreh further explained the purpose of the policy, saying that it was “with a view to increasing the modern contraceptive prevalence rate, reducing the unmet need for family planning and consequently reducing maternal, infant, and child mortality in Rivers State.

“The impact will include averting unintended pregnancies, preventing abortions, and averting maternal and child deaths”, she stressed.

“I am delighted to express my heartfelt appreciation to His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, Governor of Rivers State, for his unwavering commitment to improving the health outcomes of our dear state.

“His leadership and guidance have been instrumental in steering the health sector towards excellence”.

“Family Planning has been shown to contribute to the reduction of maternal, infant, and child mortality, as well as accelerate economic growth and development”.

“Access to contraceptives is recognized to play a key role in the achievement of national and international development goals including the Sustainable Development Goal 3, FP2030 targets and objectives and harnessing the demographic dividend.

“For every naira invested in family planning and maternal health, the benefits to families and societies are exponential”, the Commissioner stated.

“To ensure the effective utilization of these commodities”, Dr Oreh pointed out, “His Excellency has also supported residential capacity-building training for health workers on the use of these commodities, as well as community mobilization for demand generation.

“Additionally, the state will be supporting FP last mile commodity distributions from the State Central Medical Stores to the 331 facilities that offer FP services in Rivers State.”

“In Nigeria, sustainable financing for family planning is acknowledged as the responsibility of all three tiers of government (Federal, States and LGAs). However, the Federal Government has hitherto been responsible for most of the domestic resources contributed for procurement of contraceptives.

“In recent times, due to insufficient resources, funding gaps for procurement have widened significantly, leading to massive stock-outs of Family Planning commodities in health facilities”, Dr Oreh pointed out.

She said that in an effort to close the yawning funding gaps, the proactive and pragmatic Governor Siminalayi Fubara, has deliberately invested this significant amount of money to address the challenges caused by the insufficient resources in health sector funding with a view to improving the healthcare needs of the people, especially those who are vulnerable.

“We thank His Excellency, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, for his vision and dedication to the health and well-being of the people of Rivers State. Sir, we are grateful for your leadership and look forward to your continued commitment towards achieving our health goals.

“We are also thankful for the recent strong advocacy efforts of partners such as World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), DKT International, MSI Nigeria Reproductive Choices, John Snow International (JSI), Society for Family Health (SFH), and White Ribbon Alliance (WRA).

“Under the able leadership of Governor Fubara, the Rivers State Government will continue to strive towards the reduction of maternal, infant, and child mortality, thus accelerating economic growth and development.

“We seek to be a State where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled,” she added.