Prof Ladipo Calls for $50m Family Planning Funding in Nigeria

(Prof Oladapo Ladipo. Photo by ARFH Nigeria)

A renowned obstetrician-gynaecologist has called on the Federal Government to spend at least one dollar per woman of reproductive age to fund family planning supplies in Nigeria.

Professor Oladapo Ladipo said this would amount to about 50 million dollars for Nigeria's estimated 50 million women of reproductive age, a massive increase from the current three to four million dollars the government allocates.

The increase in funding is necessary because Nigeria relies too heavily on foreign donors to supply contraceptives to women.

When donor funding dries up, the supply chain breaks down.

The United States suspended its aid to Nigeria in 2025, disrupting contraceptive distribution in Bauchi State and threatening supplies across the country.

The government has made matters worse by cutting its family planning budget from 2.2 billion naira in 2024 to just 66 million naira in the 2025 budget.

This is happening despite Nigeria having one of the world's highest maternal death rates at 996 per 100,000 live births.

The professor said this is shameful compared to countries like Israel where the rate is just two.

Many Nigerian women still lack access to family planning.

About 21 per cent of married women and 36 per cent of sexually active unmarried women want family planning but cannot get it.

Professor Ladipo also called for responsible family planning, saying families should have only the number of children they can properly care for.

He urged the government to fully implement the national population policy given the country's current economic challenges.

He also told newly trained doctors that caring for women goes beyond the patient they must also manage the baby, the husband, the family and cultural considerations to provide complete healthcare.