The UN Population Fund has restated its commitment to support the Federal Government to achieve a National Contraceptive Prevalence Rate of 27 per cent by 2020.
The organisation said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja.
It explained that the support was part of designed efforts to reduce maternal and infant mortality in Nigeria.
It said achieving a national CPR of 27 per cent by 2020 would require innovative strategies which hinges on strengthening supply chain visibility.
The statement noted that a good visibility means “seeing” where commodities are accessed through data such as planned orders, shipment progress from manufacturer to country, and country-level inventory and demand data.
It said: “Global Family Planning Visibility and Analytical Network (Global FP VAN) will offer a platform to collectively estimate and prioritise supply chain needs, take action when supply imbalances loom, and advocate for funding when necessary.
“A well-functioning Global FP VAN will lead to more timely and cost-effective delivery of commodities; more women reached with the right product at the right time; and a better allocation of limited health resources.
“In this regard, UNFPA reiterates its unflinching commitment to support Nigeria in delivering equitable and universal access to sexual and reproductive health, particularly family planning and maternal health services.”
The statement said UNFPA and other international stakeholders committed to establishing a Global FP VAN during the 2017 London Family Planning Summit.
It added that UNFPA and other stakeholders committed to hosting and managing the Global FP VAN to ensure sustainability and community ownership; Nigeria was selected alongside Malawi to pilot test this platform.
NAN recalls that the Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNFPA and other partners on Tuesday inaugurated key reproductive health policies.
The documents that were unveiled included Global Family Planning Visibility and Analytical Network with the National Logistics Management Information System (NAVISION).
The other policy is the National Depot-MedroxyProgesterone Acetate-Sub Cutaneous (DMPA-SC) Accelerated Introduction and Scale-up Plan (2018-2022).
DMPA-SC is a modern family planning method that combines the contraceptive drug and needle into a single unit. It is administered sub-coetaneously (under the skin).
The Minister of health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said the documents would accelerate family planning uptake, as well as reduce maternal mortality and morbidity in Nigeria.
