By Joseph Edegbo
A 3 – day workshop on Review, Coordination and Succession plan between Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative and Family Health Advocates in Nigeria Initiative is underway in Kaduna, northwest Nigeria.
Operations of NURHI is expected to end in year 2020 and to be succeeded by FHANI.
Other similar advocacy groups from Ogun, Kano and Delta states as well as Abuja, the Federal capital which are also being supported by NURHI, are participating in the workshop to learn from the review of FHANI activities.
The brainstorming workshop featured among others, review of past operations of the succeeding advocacy group, FHANI, which revealed its success story, among them, advocacy activities that led to release of part of the 2017 budgetary allocation to family planning activities in Kaduna by the state government.
Also revealed was a number of donor partners which were attracted by activities of FHANI.
Chairman of FHANI, Shehu Muhammed Makarfi spoke of the core values of the advocacy group which are team work, transparency, community service and partnership in its activities.
Analysing the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats identified with FHANI operations, the chairman said they are lessons for possible solution by the group, as they progress in their respective states.
The Acting Secretary of FHANI, Iliya Kure who rolled out the achievements attributed them to the political will of Kaduna state government and the commitment of members.
He also acknowledged the easy access created by the policy makers to make activities of the advocacy group enviable.
On her part, Senior Programme Officer of NURHI in Kaduna, Khadija Ibrahim Nuhu stressed the importance of organizational communication, hence the need for the advocacy groups to continue branding, taking into consideration the socio- cultural beliefs of the society.
