By Murtala Muhammad
The Bauchi State Government has assured its readiness to sustain Family Planning services provided through the Delivering Intervention in Self-Care (DISC) 2.0 project through budgetary provisions and timely fund releases.
DISC 2.0, implemented by the Society for Family Health (SFH), was launched in 2024 to support women with a three-month self-injectable childbirth spacing method.
The project initially operated in eleven Local Government Areas before being scaled up to all 20 LGAs of the state.
The Commissioner for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Sani Mohammed Dambam, gave the assurance at a bi-annual stakeholders’ strategic coordination meeting held at the Polio Emergency Operations Centre in Bauchi.
The meeting, organised with support from SFH, brought together state and local government decision-makers to review the Family Planning Transition Readiness Assessment and address identified gaps.
It also sought to mobilise resources and establish integration pathways for sustainable Family Planning and self-care interventions across the state’s 20 LGAs.
Dr Dambam, represented at the meeting on the recommendation of the Permanent Secretary, Dauda Mahmud Yakubu, said the ministry would collaborate with the Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination to actualise the state’s Child Birth Spacing sustainability plan.
He said the initiative was aimed at reducing maternal deaths in line with the Federal Government’s Sector Wide Approach and Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative commitments.
Also speaking, an SFH Abuja-based officer, Umar Adamu, said Bauchi had recorded significant improvement in women’s use of modern Family Planning methods.
He said self-injections increased from 1,281 in September 2024 to 26,417 in June 2026, while Intra-Uterine Device use rose from 996 in 2024 to 2,518 in 2026.
Mr Adamu attributed the progress to the state government’s support, commitment and creation of an enabling environment for Family Planning services.
He said LGAs performing well in service provision and reporting would be supported to transition to the next level, while those lagging behind would receive increased attention to improve their performance.
The meeting was attended by stakeholders from the health sector, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and other relevant institutions, with paper presentations, panel discussions and question-and-answer sessions.
Leave a Reply