Maternal mortality: Edo vows to sustain family planning intervention

By Jethro Ibileke

Edo State Government has assured of its commitment to sustain and expand the family planning interventions, to reduce maternal mortality in the state.

The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Cyril Oshiomhole, disclosed this on Tuesday in Benin, at the formal handing over of a family planning programme by the Challenge Initiative (TCI), Nigeria.

Oshiomhole commended the TCI for its partnership of over three years, which, according to him, has addressed critical gaps in the public health sector.

According to him, the uptake of family planning services across the local government areas, the dedication and innovation of community-based approach brought reproductive health closer to the people, empowered families, strengthened systems and improved outcomes.

He noted that TCI’s footprints which has become visible in the improved access to family planning commodities and integration of youths friendly services has expanded knowledge of communities on benefits of voluntary family planning.

The Commissioner noted that there has been a shift in the mindset of communities towards accepting and owning their reproductive choices which has been guided by adequate information and respectful care.

“With focus intervention in nine LGA’s, TCI has helped to drive demand creation, improve service and build capacity of health workers.

“The ministry took up the challenge of replicating TCI’s model in remaining nine local government areas, we did this not just to match TCI’s efforts but to ensure a state wide reach, one that affirms our commitment to equitable health care access across the 18 local government areas.

“The results speak for themselves, we have immesureable increase in contraceptives prevalence, a stronger referral system and an encouraging reduction in unmet needs family planning services,” he said.

In her remark, TCI Nigeria Country Director, Dr. Taiwo Johnson, announced the formal handover of the family planning interventions to the State Government.

She noted that the handover marked a significant milestone in their journey with the Edo State government, which started over three and a half years ago.

She described the transitioning point as signaling a shift in responsibility from TCI to the government for all family planning activities in the state.

“Now that we are transitioning to self-reliance, we expect Edo to take complete ownership of all family planning activities,” she said

Johnson noted that global funding for family planning had reduced, referencing the withdrawal of support by major partners like USAID and other international donors.

She stated that although TCI 2.0 was coming to a close, a new version was expected in 2026, with modalities still under discussion.

She commended the Edo State Ministry of Health and staff for their support, especially their collaboration with the state programme coordinator since the project’s inception.

Johnson revealed that, unlike 2024, the state has not secured any funding for family planning in 2025, stressing that the gap must be addressed urgently.

“No product, no service, even with training, demand generation, and media support, if commodities are not available, family planning services will fail.” she emphasised.

She also acknowledged the contributions of other partners collaborating to ensure that Edo’s family planning indices continued to improve.

“Family planning is critical. If properly implemented, it can reduce maternal mortality by as much as 30 percent

According to her, with the commitment of the Commissioner, Edo can successfully continue the implementation of TCI’s family planning model.