By Milcah Tanimu

Women in Jigawa State have voiced their concerns about the unavailability of family planning services in health facilities across the region, highlighting the potential impact on maternal mortality rates.

These concerns were expressed during a budget review session for family planning organized by the Jigawa Maternal and Accountability Forum (JIMAF), with support from Women’s Integrated Services for Health (WISH), held at the Manpower Development Institute in Dutse.

Malama Hauwa, one of the participants, emphasized that the demand for family planning services has surged due to increased awareness campaigns. This heightened demand has led to shortages of family planning commodities throughout the state. She further noted that many women are resorting to seeking these services from private patent medical vendors, thereby raising the risk of maternal mortality.

Another participant, Halima, lamented that women in Jigawa State have refrained from visiting hospitals for family planning due to the scarcity of services. She urged the state government to consider annual increases in the allocation and release of funds for family planning to meet the needs of the 13% of women of reproductive age who require these services.

During the presentation of the budget analysis for family planning, a resource person named Isah Mustapha highlighted that the scarcity of family planning commodities can be attributed to inadequate budget provisions and releases over the years.

He explained, “From 2016 to 2019, there was no budget provision for family planning, while in 2020, N10 million was allocated, N20 million in 2021, N20 million in 2022, and N35 million in 2023.”

Mustapha stressed that the state’s allocation for family planning remains significantly insufficient, but government releases could be more encouraging. He also pointed out that the shortage of family planning services in Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) may impede the high demand from community members.

According to the MICs survey of 2021, Jigawa’s total fertility rate has decreased from about 8.6 in 2015 to approximately 7.6 in 2023. Additionally, the modern contraceptive prevalence rate, which was just above one percent in 2015, has increased to 3.5 percent in 2023.