Kwara, SFH Renew Family Planning Commitment

The Kwara Government, in collaboration with Society for Family Health (SFH), has renewed its commitment to ensuring access to quality, affordable and uninterrupted family planning services across the state for all.

Kwara Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina El-Imam, said this in Ilorin at the Kwara State 2026 Bi-annual Stakeholders’ Strategic Coordination Meeting on Family Planning Services and Coordination.

The meeting was themed: “Strengthening Family Planning Integration, Government Ownership and Accountability within Sector Wide Approach (SWAp), Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII) at State and LGA Levels”.

The commissioner said the meeting came at a critical time to renew collective commitment to ensuring that every individual and couple could make informed and voluntary decisions about timing and spacing children.

“Family planning is not merely a health intervention. It is a fundamental component of universal health coverage, maternal and child health, women’s empowerment, poverty reduction and sustainable development.

“When women and couples are able to plan their families, the benefits extend beyond the household to communities and the entire state,” she said, explaining the wider benefits.

El-Imam said planned pregnancies reduced the risk of maternal and newborn complications, improved child health and nutrition, and supported girls’ and women’s education and economic participation.

She said that Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq had recently approved funds for the United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) basket fund for procurement of family planning commodities across facilities.

“The approval is a big step in sustaining gains in family planning by ensuring availability of commodities at health facilities,” she said, stressing the importance of consistent supplies.