By Lyop Pam and Iliya Kure
Pathfinder International has tasked Media professionals in Nigeria to advocate for increased funding for family planning (FP) activities in the country.
Senior Programme Advisor, Reproductive Health, Pathfinder International Nigeria, Dr. Sakina Bello made the call in Abuja, at a 3-day workshop organized to equip media professionals with requisite knowledge on how to write advocacy stories that will lead to improved funding, as well as expansion of family planning activities in the country.
Dr. Bello explained that the media had power to advocate for change in family planning issues, thus the need to engage them for better results.
“Media is very important that is why every opportunity is important to share experience with one another and also serve as a reminder on what is the right thing to report as regards family planning,” she said.
Dr Bello explained that the workshop will avail participants the opportunity to strengthen their skills on how to write evidence-based advocacy reports that will lead to increased political commitment on FP.
She also sought the commitment of journalists on publication of impactful FP related contents through the lens of ethical journalism.
Also speaking, the Media and Communication Officer of Pathfinder International, Bayo Ewuola, says Nigeria has a maternal mortality ratio of 512 per 100,000 live births, according to NDHS 2018, stating that it is the 2nd highest in the world.
He lamented that despite the fact that Family Planning remains the cost-effective approach to reducing maternal deaths, “only 16% of Nigerian women are using modern methods of contraceptives.”
In a paper on Code of Journalism Ethics, Resource Person, Odoh Diego Okenyodo, stressed the need for journalists to adhere strictly to ethics of the profession to remain relevant.
According to him, the profession will only bloom in a conscious and organized manner, when journalists stick to the professional ethics in line with principles of fairness and responsibility.
Okenyodo also tasked participants to “always pay attention to cultural and religious sensitive terms” when writing family planning stories in order to make positive impact.
The workshop is part of the Advance Family Planning (AFP) project activities implemented by Pathfinder International in 10 states of Nigeria, comprising Kaduna, Kwara, Plateau, Nasarawa, Gombe, Lagos, Kano, Oyo, Ogun and Benue.
Recently, Pathfinder International has held a Leadership workshop for its local partners drawn from the ten states with a view to sustaining advocacy efforts that will lead Nigeria meet its goals for family planning and maternal health.
The AFP Initiative on Family Planning
The Advance Family Planning (AFP) is an advocacy initiative comprising more than 20 partner organizations, which seeks to ensure increased investment for FP from domestic sources, improving enabling environment through FP supportive policies, as well as promote evidence-based advocacy for FP through the media and increasing visibility via FP Champions.
It is designed to achieve the goal of the FP2020 partnership, which is to expand access to family planning information, services, and supplies to an additional 120 million women and girls between 2012 and 2020.
The AFP project has been implemented in Nigeria since 2015 with Pathfinder International as the implementing partner.
The AFP strategy involves use of a coalition of FP champions comprising civil society, media and community leaders – at national and subnational level to collective identify opportunities that will catalyze change in the FP landscape in the country and act on them.
About Pathfinder International
Pathfinder International was founded in 1957, in United States of America and came to Nigeria in 1965. So far, its journey has transformed lives and led to significant changes in Nigeria’s sexual and reproductive health space.
With the vision that every person, regardless of where they live, has a right to sexual and reproductive health, Pathfinder International partners local organisations to make sure the hardest-to-reach people have access to life-saving services.
The driving force for Pathfinder International in Nigeria is the large population and inadequately funded healthcare system, where millions in the country lack access to essential health services.
The NDHS 2018 shows, eighty-six percent of married women of reproductive age aren’t using modern method of contraception. It also reveals that each year, an estimated 58,000 women die from pregnancy and childbirth complications in Nigeria.
Mandate of Pathfinder International Nigeria
Make sure women have access to high-quality, respectful maternal care from their home to the health facility.
Mobilize communities to identify danger signs and activate emergency transport systems, so pregnant women at risk reach facilities.
Create innovative digital health tools that help providers deliver higher quality services more effectively.
Make sure a full range of contraceptive methods is available, so people of all ages can choose the option that’s best for them.
Train providers to deliver health care to young people, including HIV services for adolescents and young mothers.
Call on policymakers to create policies and make budget decisions that uphold people’s sexual and reproductive rights.
At the global scale, Pathfinder International works in 26 countries on issues around *Adolescents & youth *Advocacy *Contraception & family planning *Gender Hiv & aids *Maternal & newborn health *Population, health, & environment *Safe abortion care *Covid-19.
In the area of family planning, their work has influenced about 7 million women to visit health facilities for contraceptive services.