KDSG’s partnership with UNFPA on maternal, reproductive health waxing stronger.
The government of Kaduna State has reported that its collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to boost maternal and reproductive health is strengthening.
This was said on Sunday in an interview with journalists in Kaduna by Mr. Jamilu Ladan, the UNFPA State Sub-Implementing Partner Coordinator at the state’s Planning and Budget Commission (PBC).
According to Ladan, a programme officer at PBC, there has been a significant positive effect on the lives of beneficiaries thanks to the expanding cooperation between UNFPA and the state government in the area of maternal health.
He detailed the 23 events that would be held during the third quarter of 2023 to address concerns related to maternal and reproductive health.
He continued by saying that as of the 30th of September, 18 of the activities had been completed, for a total performance rate of 78.2 percent.
He also noted that N42 million had been disbursed to the sub-implementing partners out of the N52 million planned for the third quarter.
Money is being spent as I speak; financial implementation is at a perfect one hundred percent for the third quarter and seventy-five percent compared to the annual budget performance.
Maternal and reproductive health, gender-based violence, and the coordinating component housed at PBC were among the most prominent areas of focus during the third quarter.
However, according to Ladan, the changeover phase slowed down progress throughout the first and third quarters, when few tasks were completed.
He noted that surgeries for fistula patients at the Fistula Centre in Gambo Sawaba General Hospital, Zaria, were among the many activities undertaken despite the difficulty of the situation.
Several demand- and awareness-building initiatives, he said, had been carried out with the help of UNFPA.
Following an uptick in requests for maternal health care services in local communities, he claims that demand generation efforts have paid off handsomely.
We have also purchased a sizable quantity of medications for pregnant women and other mothers that could save their lives.
We’ve handled some of the distribution ourselves, while the rest of the medicines were kept in the State Primary Health Care Board’s warehouses.
The state IP praised the productive collaboration of the project’s implementing partners.
UNFPA Kaduna Sub-Office Chief Ms. Loide Amkongo told NAN that avoiding unnecessary duplication of efforts and making the most of available resources from all partners could be achieved via better coordination of the interventions.