The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has reiterated its commitment to continuously supporting Bauchi State in delivering quality, effective and efficient services in family planning programmes.
The assertion was made by the UNFPA Family Planning, Reproductive Health, Commodity Security Specialist, Dr Ummulkrusum Bajoga, while speaking at a four-day training of stakeholders on Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) to Family Planning in Bauchi State, on Wednesday.
According to her, “We will continue to advocate for the State because we see strong political will, genuine motivation, and a clear commitment to saving the lives of women and girls.”
She stressed that the training was to create awareness and ensure that the right-bearers received their rights at any time they visited health facilities for FP services.
She added that, “We also have to understand the human rights-based approach and the gender-transformative approach to family planning. We hope that by the time we conclude this session, Bauchi State will be one of the states where everyone is able to exercise their rights regarding family planning.”
Ummulkrusum Bajoga sincerely appreciated the participation and commitment of the participants, saying that, “I can assure you that UNFPA will continue to support Bauchi State.”
In her goodwill message, State Coordinator of Women Mediators and Secretary of Retired Women in Government, Easter Patrick, commended UNFPA for the training, saying that it has opened new vistas in her activities.
She promised to sensitise and create awareness among the Mothers-in-Law forum on the need to allow their daughters-in-law access to FP services for quality family health.
Also speaking, Regional Coordinator, North-East, of Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN), Adamu Abdulkadir Degri, commended the State Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, State Primary Healthcare Board and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for organising the important capacity-building workshop on human rights-based approach to family planning, stating that the theme was timely and relevant.
He also assured of PPFN’s continuous commitment to partnership in promoting and improving reproductive health outcomes in the state and the country at large.
In her own goodwill message, Director, Public Health, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Samira Abdullahi, stressed the importance of family planning in public health services in promoting and improving family health.
She assured that the Ministry will continue to collaborate with UNFPA and other donors in providing adequate information to clients who intend to access family planning services across the state.
Also, Deputy Director and Gender Desk Officer, Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Development, Habila Adamu, said that the training was coming at the right time when adequate information was needed for accessing family planning services.
On the religious sector, the State Chairperson of the Women Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (WOWICAN) commended the organisers for the training, which she said has exposed the salient challenges to quality FP services in the state.
She assured that WOWICAN will always encourage its members to access FP services and methods of their choice for the good of the family.
In her own remarks, Executive Director of the Journalists for Public Health and Development Initiative (J4PD), Elizabeth Kah, assured that the organisation will continue to give visibility to the programmes and projects of UNFPA in the state.
Represented by the Programme Manager of J4PD, Ishola Michael Adeyemi, the ED commended UNFPA for giving it support to be part of its programme implementation in the state.
She assured that J4PD will embark on advocacy, awareness creation and effective reportage of FP issues in order to let clients become conversant with it in ensuring quality family health.
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