What has the Nigerian Government pledged to do to save the lives of our mothers and babies? Below we outline some of the public pledges made by the Government at international events. MamaYe will be working with our communities to make sure these pledges are met.
Find out what commitments have been made in Ghana, Malawi, and Tanzania.
We are committing a total of US$ 33.4 million over the next four years for procurement of additional quantities of reproductive health commodities, representing a 300% domestic funding increase. We have also ringfenced $500 million over the next four years, for maternal, newborn and child health interventions under the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme.
--President Goodluck Jonathan speaking at the launch of Nigeria's 'Saving One Million Lives Initiative', 16th October 2012.
The Abuja Declaration - a commitment to ensure 15% of the annual budget is used to improve the health sector
In April 2001, at a meeting of African leaders in the Nigerian capital, the Nigerian Government pledged to support the Abuja Declaration, that at least 15% of the government's annual budget is used to improve the health sector. No deadline was set for meeting this commitment. Taken from the "African Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Other Related Infectious Diseases".
What has been done so far?
The latest available data (2011) shows the Nigerian Government had increased health sector allocation to 5.6% of the annual budget.
The Maputo Plan of Action - to ensure universal access to reproductive health services
In September 2006, at a meeting in the Mozambican capital, Nigeria pledged to support the Maputo Plan which addresses "the serious threat" to "the right to health in Africa" (with) "poor sexual and reproductive health as a leading killer."
The Nigerian Government plan to address this threat through the following means:
- Integrating HIV/AIDS services into sexual and reproductive health and rights
- Promoting family planning as a crucial factor in attaining the Millennium Development Goals
- Supporting the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents and young people
- Addressing unsafe abortions through family planning
- Delivering quality and affordable health services to promote safe motherhood, child survival, and maternal, newborn and child health
- Adopting strategies that would ensure reproductive health commodity security
- Increasing resources for sexual and reproductive health, in alignment with the Abuja Declaration
Taken from the Plan of Action on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
The UN's Every Woman Every Child - a commitment to save the lives of women and children by 2015
In September 2010, at a summit for the UN Millenium Development Goals in New York, Nigeria was one of the governments that pledged to "save the lives of 60 million women and children by 2015".
Nigeria pledged to do this by:
- Fully funding a health program at $31.63 per capita by increasing budgetary allocation to as much as 15% from 5% by 2015;
- Working towards integrating services for MNCH;
- Strengthening health management information systems;
- Increasing the number of core services providers including Community Health Extension workers and midwives
Taken from the "Commitments in Support of the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health" on the UN's Every Woman Every Child website.
The Family Planning Summit - to mobilise contraceptive information, services and supplies
In July 2012, Nigeria was one of the governments in attendance at a summit convened by the UK government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with UNFPA and other partners. The summit proposed to "mobilise global policy, financing, commodity, and service delivery commitments to support the rights of an additional 120 million women and girls in the world's poorest countries." The aim of the summit was to:
- Revitalize global commitments to family planning and access to contraceptives as a cost-effective and transformational development priority
- Improve the access and distribution of contraceptive supplies
- Remove and reduce barriers to family planning
To achieve these goals Nigeria pledged to:
- Achieve contraceptive prevalence rate of 36% by 2018;
- In next four years, increase total commitment from 12 million USD to 45 million, an increase of almost 300%.
- Work with state and local govts to secure complementary budgets for family planning and reproductive health service delivery'
- Train frontline health workers to deliver a range of contraceptives and action to improve equity and access to family planning for the poorest.
Taken from the "Commitments in Support of the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health" on the UN's Every Woman Every Child website.