Nasarawa Government gets Commendation for Strides in Family Planning

Nasarawa state government has been commended for the positive strides made by the State in the area of family planning. The Country Director, of The Challenge Initiative (TCI), Dr. Taiwo Johnson, made the commendation during a ceremony to mark the graduation of Nasarawa State from The Challenge Initiative (TCI) program.

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She commended Nasarawa State for diligently following the necessary steps throughout the partnership and assured that the TCI would remain a friend to Nasarawa State, always willing to render assistance whenever necessary.

Speaking on behalf of the State Government, the Commissioner for Health Dr. Gaza Gwamna, expressed the appreciation of the government and people of Nasarawa State.

“We are glad to have partnered with you for this period. I am glad that you can say that we have achieved some milestones. We have learned a lot. We have been coached and we can coach others now”.

He said on its own, the State Government is already introducing some innovations to improve the health of the citizenry including the creation of a department of family health at the Ministry of Health. He assured that Nasarawa State will continue to lead other States in the implementation of family planning programs.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, Nasarawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Mohammed Adis, spoke on some of the things the State has benefitted from the TCI including the makeover of some health facilities in the State through the ‘72-Hour Clinic Makeover’ which according to him has been fully imbibed by his agency.

Dr. Adis also disclosed that through the TCI project, a budget line for family planning has been introduced into the Nasarawa State budget.

He assured that all the necessary mechanisms have been put in place to ensure the sustainability of the program.

Speaking via sype, the Executive Director of TCI,  Kojo Lokko applauded the Nasarawa State Government for what he described as a warm working relationship.

“Right from the onset, TCI experienced such warmth and comradeship from the State team. This translated into a good working relationship and partnership which brought very early results and this has been the signature of the program to date. I have been particularly impressed by Nasarawa’s trajectory over the past few years. This is not only due to these technical services. I would also like to call out the demonstration of leadership in the State in terms of supporting this program”.

Also speaking, a Senior Program Officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rodeo Diallo, said the foundation has been tracking the progress of Nasarawa State in the program.

“We are excited about the remarkable improvement recorded in the State in terms of family planning uptake as well as domestic financing towards family planning”.

She commended the Nasarawa State Government for providing quality leadership and called for more efforts to ensure that women, children, and families in Nasarawa State live optimally to attain the greatest potential.

There were comments from Andrea Anschel of the Johns Hopkins University, Center for Communications Programs (JHUCCP) and Thomas Ohobu of the Breakthrough Action Nigeria (BA-N). They all applauded the strides made by the State in the area of family planning.