The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has called on the Federal Government to urgently prioritise and adequately fund family planning as a critical response to Nigeria’s persistently high maternal mortality rate.
Its National President, Alhassan Yahaya, made the call amid growing concerns over worsening health indicators, warning that without decisive investment in reproductive health before 2030, Nigeria would continue to record thousands of preventable maternal deaths with far-reaching social and economic consequences.
Nigeria’s alarming maternal mortality rate has again taken centre stage, with the NUJ cautioning that the failure to treat family planning as a national development priority threatens the country’s health system and long-term productivity.
Speaking under the Made Possible by Family Planning campaign of FP2030, a global initiative promoting universal access to reproductive health services, Yahaya stressed that family planning must no longer be regarded as a peripheral health issue but as a core pillar of national survival.
He warned that inaction would sustain a vicious cycle of maternal deaths, poor health outcomes and economic stagnation, ultimately undermining Nigeria’s prospects for sustainable development.
According to Yahaya, family planning goes far beyond contraception, as it directly affects women’s safety during childbirth, child survival rates and the overall wellbeing of families. He explained that access to quality reproductive health services enables women to deliver safely and remain healthy enough to care for their children during the critical first 1,000 days of life, a period widely recognised as essential to child development and societal progress.
He expressed concern over Nigeria’s heavy dependence on donor funding for reproductive and maternal health programmes, warning that the sustainability of recent gains remains at risk as international partners scale down or freeze financial support.
Yahaya urged the Federal Government to take full ownership of its FP2030 commitments by increasing domestic funding for family planning, ensuring the timely release of approved funds and strengthening transparency and accountability in their utilisation.
“Funding delays and mismanagement are killing women. We must stop treating family planning as an afterthought,” he said. “Evidence shows that family planning can reduce maternal deaths by about 40 per cent. That statistic alone should compel our leaders to act.”
The NUJ president argued that meaningful progress towards universal health coverage would remain unattainable unless family planning is fully recognised and funded as a cornerstone of national development.
He proposed innovative healthcare financing models, including dedicating a percentage of government contracts across sectors to health funding. He questioned why large-scale infrastructure, agriculture or energy projects could not contribute a defined share to healthcare, noting that over-reliance on annual budgetary allocations had repeatedly failed the system.
Yahaya also aligned with global calls to strengthen healthcare financing through taxation, advocating an increase in the statutory allocation to the Basic Health Care Provision Fund from one per cent of consolidated revenue to five per cent. He described the proposal as a potential game-changer for healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
“This single step could transform our healthcare system. The era of total dependence on donors is over. Nigeria must take responsibility for its own future. Without alternative funding mechanisms, universal health coverage will remain a mirage,” he said.
He further identified basket funding as a pathway to more equitable healthcare access, explaining that pooled resources could reduce out-of-pocket spending, expand insurance coverage and ensure communities directly benefit from health investments. However, he stressed that such reforms would require strong governance structures, competent management and reliable accountability systems.
Beyond government action, Yahaya called on the private sector to play a more active role in health financing, describing investment in healthcare as both a moral obligation and an economic necessity. He noted that productivity across all sectors would remain fragile without a healthy population.
He also underscored the responsibility of journalists and broadcasters in advancing the family planning agenda, emphasising that sustained public sensitisation and behaviour change require strategic communication, quality reporting and long-term investment in public awareness campaigns.
Reaffirming the NUJ’s commitment to advocacy, Yahaya described maternal deaths as a national tragedy rather than mere statistics, warning that every life lost represents a systemic failure.
“Maternal mortality is not just a statistic; it is a national tragedy. Every life lost is a failure of our system, and we must act now,” he said.
