As Nigeria faces persistent donor fatigue and widening gaps in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) financing, several states are rising to the challenge by developing bold, innovative models to ensure continued access to family planning services and commodities at the subnational level.
This momentum was spotlighted on Thursday in Abuja at the National Policy Dialogue on Improving Adolescent Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services. Themed “Improving Adolescent Access to Quality Sexual and Reproductive Health Services,” the event was organised by Nigeria Health Watch and its partners, bringing together state actors, health experts and civil society organisations.
Science Nigeria reports that despite considerable national investment over the years, adolescent reproductive health outcomes across the country remain uneven. Contraceptive uptake among adolescents continues to be low, and many young people face structural and social barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services.
Experts at the dialogue emphasised that closing these gaps requires high-impact, data-driven interventions, youth-centred programming, and robust coordination of financing priorities between national and subnational actors.
In a high-level panel session, representatives from Kano and Ogun States, alongside The Challenge Initiative (TCI), shared practical strategies and financing mechanisms they are deploying to strengthen local health systems and expand family planning coverage.
Director of family health at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Binyerem Ukaire acknowledged the federal government’s limited capacity to fully fund family planning interventions. However, she urged states to assume greater responsibility by creating dedicated budget lines for SRH.
“There are opportunities for federal support, but states must take the bull by the horns,” Ukaire stated. “Local commitment is critical to sustaining gains in reproductive health.”
Responding to this call, permanent secretary at the Kano State Ministry of Health, Pharm. Aminu Bashir detailed how Kano has established one of the country’s most robust family planning financing frameworks. The state’s Common Health Trust Fund pools resources from its 44 local government areas and internally generated revenue (IGR), with a specific percentage earmarked for family planning.
“For the first time, Kano State now has a dedicated budget for family planning,” Bashir said. “We also have a tripartite funding mechanism involving the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Nangwete Foundation and the state government. This allows for broader, more effective SRH programming.”
Ogun State is also taking strategic steps to reduce reliance on donor aid. Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker explained how co-financing arrangements with TCI enabled the state to build internal procurement capacity and transition toward state-led commodity procurement.
“Ogun State is now procuring its family planning commodities, which are available to women free of charge at the point of care,” Coker said. “We’ve also leveraged counterpart funding with UNFPA and utilised the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) to support service delivery.”
According to her, other financing innovations include tapping into the drug management agency’s fund for vulnerable groups and encouraging private sector support for family planning as part of their corporate social responsibility.
Despite these efforts, Coker acknowledged that challenges persist. “Many still believe that family planning is the donor’s job. We’re actively changing that narrative. While we have a budget line, access to the funds can be delayed, so we sometimes use executive approval limits to prevent stockouts.”
National coordinator for TCI, Dr. Taiwo Johnson provided a broader perspective on how the initiative supports states to embed sustainability within their SRH financing strategies. She explained that TCI’s “business-as-usual” model requires states to co-invest and gradually take full ownership of programs over a three-year engagement period.
“States must show interest and commit their own resources. That’s how we ensure programs are not donor-dependent but locally driven,” Johnson said.
She noted that although budget release delays and weak political will remain challenges in some states, others have made impressive progress in domestic financing, better budgeting practices, and capacity development.
Stakeholders at the event agreed that Nigeria’s reproductive health landscape cannot continue to rely heavily on external assistance. Instead, innovation, commitment and accountability at the state level are essential to achieving Nigeria’s FP2030 targets and moving closer to Universal Health Coverage.
Managing director of Nigeria Health Watch and one of the panel moderators, Vivianne Ihekweazu underscored the importance of local ownership and knowledge sharing.
“As we have seen today, different states are finding context-specific solutions that are working,” Ihekweazu said. “The real challenge now is scaling these successes so that every woman, no matter where she lives, can access family planning services when she needs them.”
The dialogue concluded with a collective call for sustained investment, smarter financing mechanisms, and deeper partnerships between government, civil society and the private sector to protect and expand gains in reproductive health, especially for adolescents and underserved populations.
