Anniversary: CSO urges KDSG to release funds for family planning 

Anniversary: CSO urges KDSG to release funds for family planning

By Stella Kabruk

Cash backing

Kaduna, June 1,2024(NAN) A civil society group, Family Health Advocate In Nigeria Initiative (FHANI), has urged Gov. Uba Sani of Kaduna State to release the money allocated for  family planning in the state.

The Secretary of the organisation, Benjamin Maigari, spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on in Kaduna on Saturday on the one year anniversary of President Bola Tinubu and Sani

He, however, commended  the state government for increasing the family planning budget on programming from N6.8million in 2023 to N7.5 million in 2024.

Maigari said it was a good idea for the administration and also called on to approve the cash backing of the money as it has been requested since March.

He said,” The cash backing has always been the problem. The state has a budget of N250million for family planning procurement since 2021 when the past government made the commitment.

“The money had been validated year in year out due to non availability or cash backing of the said amount by the state government.

“The money is supposed to be put into the national family planning basket fund managed by UNFPA for the procurement.

” We as CSOs in Kaduna state are calling on the state governor to cad backed the amount immediately.”

Maigari added that the state government needed to release its counterpart funding to UNFPA just as it did to UNICEF, Bill and Melinda Gates and Dangote Foundations.

He also commended the government for allocating 15 per cent of its total budget to health thereby surpassing the Abuja declaration.