The development Research and Project Centre (dRPC), in collaboration with the Population Association of Nigeria, is holding a symposium to commemorate the United Nations World Population Day.
The symposium themed: “Embracing the Power of Inclusive Data Towards a Resilient and Equitable Future for All” is taking place in Abuja.
The programme will bring together policymakers, researchers, development partners, and civil society to discuss and develop actionable strategies to harness Nigeria’s demographic dividend.
Organisers said by focusing on critical issues related to population dynamics, the symposium will contribute to national efforts in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The one-day symposium will feature an opening ceremony, two panel sessions, a keynote address, and a closing session. Organisers said the panel sessions will be interactive, allowing for a robust exchange of ideas and experiences.
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A Newslodgeteam is on the ground to provide you live updates of the event scheduled to commence by 9:00 a.m.
It’s a bright morning here in the federal capital. We are live at the one-day high-level symposium, where health experts will discuss Nigeria’s demographic dividend.
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Although the event was scheduled to commence at 9:00 a.m., it started a few minutes late to allow participants to settle in.
9: 30 am: All is set for the commencement of the event. The facilitator, Kawu Umar, kickstarts the event at Maryam Hall in Hawthorne Hotel Abuja.
All set for the World Population Day: Experts discuss role of family planning in addressing demographic challenges in Nigeria
9:32 am: The event commences with the recitation of the National Anthem.
9:38 am: Mr Umar, the facilitator, introduces the panelists to the participants.
9:40 am: The facilitator invites government officials and partners to give their goodwill message.
9: 41 am: Samuel Ohaegbulam, the President of FNAMed, Nigerian Academy of Medicine, gives his goodwill address, thanking the organisers for putting together such an important event.
“We appreciate the partnership, especially for those of you who have found time to be here,” he said.
“I want to thank the dRPC for taking this mantle of population growth on their shoulders. It is important for us to discuss the population and how it affects our overall health,” Mr Ohaegbulam said.
9:45 am: Oladipo Ladipo, the President of the Association of Reproductive Health has been invited to give his goodwill message.
9:47 am: He said the prioritisation of population management with the use of data in Nigeria is not just a necessity but a strategic move with multiple benefits.
“We must evangelise family planning,” Mr Ladipo said. “We must also talk about it in the church, in the mosque and use all modes of communication to promote family planning.”
9: 49 am: “If we fail to plan, nature will do it for us and nature will do it with planning and that is the phase we are going through now,” he added.
9: 50 am: The facilitator invites Okechukwu Ikpeze, a professor and the President of Gynaecology and Obstetrics Nigeria, to give his goodwill message.
9: 51 am: Mr Ikpeze said family planning is critical if one considers the rapid population growth in Nigeria.
“In the past, a lot of children died because women wanted a certain number just so if some died, they would still have some number of children there. But we are moved past that now,” Mr Okechukwu said.
9:53 am: He noted that the resources to care for the children are not there.
“There are some countries with limitations on the number of offspring allowed and they are doing better than us. But here, we think numerous children are an asset and we need to address this.”
9: 55 am: The theme of the day cannot be overemphasised especially at the point we find ourselves now, he said.
Salma Ibrahim, special Adviser to the president on Health giving the keynote speech.
9: 56 am: The facilitator invites Salma Ibrahim, the Special Adviser to the President on Health, to deliver the keynote address
The theme of the day cannot be overemphasised, Ms Ibrahim began, especially at the point we find ourselves now. Too many of us cannot feed ourselves.
9:57 am: Citing the trend in population growth globally, Ms Ibrahim said the population of so many countries is going down due to the low fertility “but it is not the case in developing countries.”
“Instead we are adding more in Nigeria. The country has one of the highest populations in the world and is likely to surpass the US by 2050. As a country with high levels of poverty, this is a problem.”
9:59 am: Ms Ibrahim said the health sector in Nigeria is concerned about how the increasing population will affect the ability to improve and sustain quality health service delivery especially as it affects maternal mortality.
10:00 am: The president’s adviser said, among other reasons, this is why the current administration is working to improve the availability of family planning for every member of the population.
10:02 am: She said the federal government is doing a lot but state governments must also take responsibility, especially with the procurement of family planning.
10:04 am: “Family planning is one of the most effective methods of reducing maternal mortality because the women are not getting pregnant,” she said.
10:06 am: Ms Ibrahim said she believes that family planning alone can reduce maternal mortality by 30 per cent.
10:10 am: Speaking further, Ms Ibrahim said family planning should be a right that every family should have access to.
10:13 am: “Family planning commodity is not a luxury,” she noted. “Every woman and man must have access to family planning commodities,” Ms Ibrahim concluded.
10: 15 am: Ejike Oji, the chairman of the management committee of the Association for the Advancement of Family Planning (AAFP) and the FP CSO focal person for Nigeria Health Watch, took the podium for his presentation.
10:17 am: Mr Oji will deliver the lead presentation on a market survey by dRPC on the accessibility of contraceptives.
10:20 am: The presentation is titled “Contraceptive Accessibility and Costs Amidst the Cost of Living Crisis: Findings from Recent Market Survey.”
10:21 am: The report showed a financial barrier based on the cost of consumables.
“We saw behavioural trade-offs and availability and accessibility,” Mr Oji said, citing findings from their research.
10:25 am: On behavioural trade-off, one of the respondents who is a contraceptive provider according to the survey said, “The greatest disservice to family planning in Nigeria is the inadequate supply of consumables and supplies this forces us to pay user fees even though the contraceptives are free.”
10:27 am: Mr Oji said providers lamented how a lot of people have very little knowledge of family planning and the use of contraceptives.
10: 30 am: “We saw a mixed behavioural tradeoff on the issue of investment of time and money in this survey,” the researcher said.
10:32 am: Further findings show that clients now prioritise spending on contraceptives over other expenses like hair and makeup.
10:34 am: This, Mr Oji said, is a reflection on the perceived importance of contraceptives despite financial constraints.
10:35 am: Mr Oji said that with less than six years to the Universal Health Coverage target of 2030, countries are still in the middle of the target, and still having serious issues with family planning.
10:36 am: For us in the room, we have a role to play as regards family planning. “We need more advocacy. The onus is on us to go beyond the room to see how we can engage more,” Mr Oji said concluding his presentation.
10:40 am: The facilitator invited Umar Jabi, the District Head of Gagi, Sokoto, to come up for his goodwill message.
10:41 am: According to Mr Jabi, the burden of family planning is heavily on women.
“Therefore, we need a lot of political women at national and sub-national level. We also need to reduce over-dependence on donors.”
He noted that Nigeria is experiencing donor fatigue and the government needs to make decisive budgetary decisions.
10:45 am: Participants go on break.
11:20 am: The session resumes after the tea break.
11:21 am: The facilitator, Mr Umar, introduces the first panel for discussion on “Best and Promising Practices in Family Planning Commodity Procurement and Service Delivery at Subnational Levels – the Case of Kano and Kaduna States.”
11:22 am: The panellists are: Sada Danmusa, Executive Director, MS DOS; Isa Musa, Technical Support, Department of Public Health and Disease Control, Kano State; Salisu Babba, Chigari Foundation; and Nafisa Isa, Director, Family and Community Health Services, Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board.
11:24 am: The panel session is facilitated by Stanley Ukpai, the director of projects at dRPC.
The first panel session has commenced. The session is titled,” Best and Promising Practices in Family Planning Commodity Procurement and Service Delivery at Subnational Levels – the Case of Kano and Kaduna States.”The panel session is facilitated by Stanley Ukpai, Director of Projects, development, research and project centre.
11:25 am: Mr Danmusa said national strategic planning has been very important in the conversations of best family planning practices.
He noted that as a technical assistant, it is important for CSOs to support the policies of the government and work with the government on implementation.
11:28 am: “As the technical working group, the work we do is technical. These surveys create the structure for the group that we follow up on the implementation of some government policies,” he said.
11:30 am: He harped on the importance of collaboration. I believe it is the collaboration that will help us improve health care at the community level.
11:32 am: “We need to involve traditional leaders and community heads to ensure grassroots implementation of family planning,” Mr Musa said.
“We also have to think of sustainability by carefully planning the community engagement strategy, especially for rural areas where such a topic is considered very sensitive.”
11:34 am: Speaking further, Mr Musa said his team is advocating for the government to appoint community engagement officers whose sole responsibility will be to engage community members through the village heads and other local authorities.
11:36 am: This appointment, Mr Musa said, will ensure there is sustainability. “We don’t want a case where we work … in a community and when there’s a change of government everything stops.”
11:38 am: “Government and focus communities need to be fully involved in the family planning projects.”
11:39 am: Mr Musa added that there is a need to improve the engagement of traditional leaders in family planning advocacy.
11:40 am: He said this strategy was used for polio and it produced the desired result.
Ms Isa of the Kaduna Primary Health Care Board said that Kaduna State currently has two functional budget lines.
“One is the procurement of family planning and the other is for family planning engagement projects,” she explained.
11:45 am: “We are training service providers and community heads to improve engagement and awareness of family planning in Kaduna.”
11:46 am: However, she said, the major challenge they are facing is the slop in the budget line. “For us to be able to work better in advocacy, we need better allocation from the government.”
11:47 am: Ms Isa said the Kaduna State Government is doing a lot to attract the private sector to support its efforts.
“At the same time, the board wants to ensure an increase in the availability and accessibility of contraceptives in Kaduna.”
11:50 am: Mr Musa noted that currently, Kano is the most populous city in Nigeria.
11:51 am: With regards to family planning, he said the state government allocated about N200 million for the procurement of family planning commodities last year, adding, “If you check the state budget, you will find that there.”
11:53 am: We have also domesticated the national adolescent health policy in the state.
11:55 am: Speaking further, Mr Musa said the Kano state government was the first to commence the Drug Revolving Fund (DRF). He said five per cent of funds generated from the DRF are allocated to birth spacing and procurement of family planning commodities, which are tied to health facilities offering family planning in the state monthly.
11:57 am: For family planning, Mr Musa said, the state is budgeting 100 million annually.
“Initially, it was N50 million,” he added, but with the increased advocacy from CSOs, the government raised its budgetary allocation.
11:59 am: “Often people with disability shy away from visiting healthcare. When we asked, they complained that health workers refuse to provide services to them.”
12:01 pm: Then, the official speaks on the Kano government’s efforts to achieve inclusion.
12:02 pm: “One of the policies the Kano government is looking to implement is to mandate all health facilities to provide services to every person living with disabilities seeking healthcare,” he said.
12:05 pm: Reflecting on the discussion of the panellists, Mr Ladipo, the President of the Association for Reproductive and Family Health, commended the intelligence submissions.
He said there are three major reasons for family planning: “One is the health rationale, the demographic rationale, and the human rights rationale.”
12:08 pm: “All the three components are very important,” he said.
12:12 pm: Mr Ukpai, the moderator, said they were out of time and therefore the panel would not be taking questions.
12:14 pm: The first-panel discussion comes to an end.
12:15 pm: The facilitator announces the second panel session, titled “Prospects for Expanded & Effective Family Planning Service Delivery within the PHC System.”
12:16 pm: Rosemary Ogu, the National President of the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria, will moderate the session.
12:17 pm: The moderator introduces the panellists and invites them to join the high table.
12:18 pm: The panelists are: Enang Erena, President, of the Population Association of Nigeria; Margaret Edison, Director, Population Management and Development Department Representatives from the National Population Commission; Oluseyi Omokore, representing Binyerem Ukaire, Director and Head, Family Health Department, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and Okechukwu Ikpeze, President, Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics Nigeria.
12:21 pm: Today is an opportunity to engage diverse perspectives on the ways to improve family planning in the country, the moderator said, setting the pace for the conversation to begin.
12:23 pm: Our success hinges on our collaboration to ensure equity and wide coverage of healthcare in the sector, she added.
12:25 pm: Mr Erena said Nigeria has not done well to address rapid population growth.
12:26 pm: “Our maternal mortality might have dropped over the years but I doubt that this is because of family planning. Instead, it is because of inflation. People are trying to minimise expenses. Awareness on child control may be high but acceptability is low among the people,” he said.
12:30 pm: Mr Erena said over the years, so many strategies have been discussed, but not much has changed.
12:32 pm: “We need to improve education and the literacy rate of the people. We must be innovative and interrogative. We should also focus on how to get the message to the people. We are too dependent on donor funds and it is important that we change that approach.”
12:35 pm: Mr Omokore said the government and donor organisations are all doing well on their part but it is a work in progress.
12:36 pm: He said there are about 40 million Nigerian women of reproductive age. He said although family planning intervention is increasing, there is no corresponding result.
Second panel session currently ongoing.The facilitator announces the second panel session which is titled; “Prospects for Expanded & Effective Family Planning Service Delivery within the PHC System.”The session is moderated by Rosemary Ogu, the National President of the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria.
Second panel session currently ongoing.The facilitator announces the second panel session which is titled; “Prospects for Expanded & Effective Family Planning Service Delivery within the PHC System.”The session is moderated by Rosemary Ogu, the National President of the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria.
12: 40 pm: In his submission, Mr Ikepeze said the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics is in four states in the country, surveying women to know if they are in need of obstetric care and recommend the right treatment.
12:44 pm: We also go to primary and secondary health centres trying to educate the workers and looking out for health services provided to patients by workers, he said.
12:45 pm: Mr Ikepeze said health professionals need to look at the direct and also indirect causes of maternal mortality.
12:46 pm: This is what we are doing in our society, he said.
12:47 pm: If a woman doesn’t get access to family planning and eventually gets pregnant, how do we ensure that she survives pregnancy and childbirth? This is at the centre of work.
12:50 pm: Ms Ogu, the moderator, said the panel would have loved to take questions but unfortunately, there is no time
12:51 pm: She thanked the panellists for their intervention.
12:52 pm: The second panel comes to an end and the facilitator takes over the podium.
12:57 pm: Mr Umar invites Aliyu Hassan for a session on the presentation of the PHC Media Award to health journalists.
1: 03 pm: Mr Hassan said the centre received a lot of entries from journalists covering primary health centres.
Over 30 entries were received.
1:05 pm: The judges then selected 13 quality ones based on originality, depth of work, writing style, and the ethics of reporting, he said.
1:10 pm: Mr Hassan called on Samuel Ohaegbulam, FNAMed President, Nigeria Academy of Medicine (NMed), to present the awards.
1:12 pm: The winner of the award is Marcus Fatunmole of the International Centre for Investigative Journalism (ICIR).
1:14 pm: Lara Adejoro of the Punch Newspaper won the runner-up award.
1:15 pm: Nike Adebowale, a former Newslodgereporter, won the second-runner-up award.
1: 17 pm: Organisers said the winner of the award gets a cash prize of N1 million, the runner-up receives N500,000 while the second runner-up takes home N300,000.
The organisers have presented the PHC media award to 13 journalists. The facilitator, Mr Hassan said, Over 30 entries were received. The judges then select 13 of high quality based on originality, depth of work, writing style, and the ethics of reporting.
1: 20 pm: Mr Hassan said all the awards are centred on media reporting of Primary Health Centres.
1:20 pm: Other awardees that received recognition are: Hassan Zaggi – The Authority Newspaper; Kazeem Biriowo – Nigerian Tribune Newspaper; Ojoma Akpo – Daily Trust; Emmanuel Kutara – FRCN; Racheal lyema Abujah – News Agency of Nigeria; Patience Hejirika – Leadership Newspaper; Joseph Dauda – ITV; and Tina Abeku – The Guardian Newspaper.
1:21 pm: The facilitator invites Mr Erena to give the vote of thanks.
1: 23 pm: Mr Erena, the President of the Population Association of Nigeria, said he is pleased with the robust conversation at the programme.
1:24 pm: He said the experts highlighted what is needed and the strategies to harness Nigeria’s demographic dividends.
1:25 pm: Now it is time for us to take practical actions, he said.
1:26 pm: In the same vein, dRPC’s Mr Ukpai urged participants to continue the pursue the advancement of family planning and population control in Nigeria.
1:28 pm: Mr Ukpai thanked participants for their time and for taking part in the symposium.
1:30 pm: The End.