Osogbo: The Osun State Government has announced plans to maintain the significant progress achieved in family planning uptake with the assistance of The Challenge Initiative (TCI), a non-governmental organisation. The state's Commissioner for Health, Mr. Jola Akintola, highlighted this commitment during a stakeholders' meeting in Osogbo focused on transitioning Osun's family planning efforts to self-reliance.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the programme was a collaborative effort between the state government and TCI. Akintola emphasized that the partnership had resulted in a notable increase in family planning uptake, reaffirming the government's dedication to prioritising reproductive health and family planning.
The State Family Planning Coordinator, Mrs. Ololade Abatan, revealed that 76,008 individuals had adopted family planning methods over the past three years due to TCI's intervention. This marked a significant improvement in the state's family planning uptake.
Dr. Taiwo Johnson, Country Director of TCI, noted that there had been a gradual improvement in family planning uptake, with the state government preparing to transition to self-reliance in these efforts. Johnson explained that after three years of TCI's involvement, Osun State would begin to independently fund and manage its family planning programmes, aiming for sustainability.
Dr. Olukunle Omotoso, Senior Technical Advisor at TCI Nigeria, stated that the ultimate goal of TCI was to achieve self-reliance by scaling up family planning and enhancing urban health systems. Omotoso urged the state government to increase funding for family planning, citing high demand and the need for more service providers to meet these demands. He encouraged the government to sustain the progress made in family planning uptake.