Yobe TCI joins others to celebrate International Women's Day.
By Yusuf Bukar Biriri, Damaturu
As Nigeria marks International Women's Day (IWD) 2025, the day highlights the role of FP in advancing women's rights, empowerment, and access to family planning services to enable them to complete their education careers, participate in the workforce and contribute meaningfully to the society
Dr Taiwo Johnson, the country lead at the challenge initiative (TCI), said that allowing women to make informed choices about their productive health and childbirth spacing ensures better health outcomes, improves economic opportunities as well and enhances the quality of life of families and communities.
According to him, TCI has been supporting the government of Nigeria since 2017, providing technical support to 22 states across the country for a sustainable local response to the needs of women and families.
He explained that managed by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP), TCI Nigeria hub accelerates the proven-to-work high-impact family planning approaches and provides guidance to self-selected states, local governments and partners willing to invest in birth spacing.
Dr Taiwo outlined that family planning is a crucial tone for achieving multiple sustainable development goals (SDGs), particularly those focused on women's health, economic growth, and gender equality noted that SDGs 4, 8 and 13 are essential towards reproductive healthcare.
Despite significant efforts, challenges in Nigeria, including cultural and religious resistance to modern contraceptive stockings of FP commodities due to supply chain disruptions, inadequate funding and policy gaps limiting service expansion, he added.
TCI would continue to prioritise investment in family planning initiatives to drive gender equality and women's empowerment and with a call to action from government donors and civil society to increase FP funding, strengthen policies and ensure universal access to modern contraceptives.
Speaking on the significance of the day, chairman of Yobe State Family Planning Media Team, Mustapha Yusuf Musa, Said the day serves as an avenue to celebrate the progress made towards achieving gender equality and women's empowerment as well as creating awareness of their productive health.
The Chairman assured that the Yobe team remain committed to providing family planning and reproductive healthcare services, particularly for women and girls, ls, to break the barriers.
He appealed to the government, media organisations, civil society and development partners to attain universal health coverage and SDG goals.