Gombe earmarks N48m for child spacing in 2019

A group of professionals advocating child spacing activities in Gombe State, Action Group on Child Spacing, said on Friday that the state government earmarked N48 million for such programmes in 2019.

Malam Alhassan Yaya, the Chairman of the group, made the disclosure to newsmen in Gombe.

He said the money would be used for the purchase of child spacing commodities and consumables, training of health workers, and overseeing distribution of the commodities at primary healthcare centres in the state.

Yaya said that apart from the N48 million, the group was still expecting some money from the Save One Million Lives, which had been supporting the programme in the state.

According to him, the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) of Gombe State at the moment is 18 per cent, and based on its strategic plan, the state is expected to reach 22 per cent by the year 2022.

Yaya said that the target could be achieved in view of the level of acceptability by individuals in the state.

He called on members of the public to subscribe to child spacing commodities which, he said, were given free in public hospitals.

The chairman said that researches revealed that child spacing could reduce maternal mortality by 40 per cent.

“I am, therefore, calling on the general public to take advantage of the opportunity,” Yaya said.