THE United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Bauchi State Office, has explained that its ninth country programme is aligned to the National Development Plan, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda, 2063.
State Programme Officer, Deborah Tabara, said this while giving an overview of the UNFPA Ninth Country programme during a one- day State UNFPA Ninth Country programme biannual Maternal Health (MH), Family Planning (FP), Sexaul and Reproductive Health (SRH) and HIV partners meeting held recently.
Tabara also said that the programme is also aligned with the UNFPA Strategic Plan of 2022-2025 as it also contributes to the achievement of SDGs goals two, three, five, 10, 13, 16 and 17.
The state UNFPA Programme Officer further said that the programme is also focusing on human rights, gender equality and gender transformative approaches that will be cross-cutting in addressing SRH and GBV information and services.
Other areas that the programme targets, according to Tabara, include gender mainstreaming, social norms and practices that perpetuate inequalities and vulnerabilities, data and intelligence generation to monitor the progress of the transformative results leading to informed evidence-based policy and programme development in the state.
The meeting was organised by the state Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination, in collaboration with the UNFPA.
Speaking at the meeting, Commissioner for Budget, Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination, Aminu Hammayo, described the meeting as timely, especially as the state is on the verge of implementing the social protection policy that seeks to cater for the underprivileged and vulnerable target group.
He commended UNFPA for supporting the meeting and also disclosed that the ministry will explore avenues of sourcing for resources to see if such partners’ meeting could be holding quarterly.
In an opening remark, the permanent secretary in the ministry, Alhaji Idris Sale Giade, had said that the meeting will provide an opportunity for relevant MDAs, civil society organisations (CSOs) and implementing partners to share experience in the areas of MH, FP/SRH and HIV which is the core thematic focus of meeting.
He urged all the relevant state MDAs to always avail the ministry their quarterly data in order to build an enrich database for the state.
Also, the programme director in the ministry, Usman Umar Muhammad, while highlighting what the meeting would seek to achieve, said that one of the major objectives of bringing the forum together was to achieve the UNFPA three transformative results of ending preventable maternal deaths, unmet need and GBV and harmful practices.
Muhammad further said that the meeting would also provide an avenue to explore on coordination and synergy among various implementing partners aimed at achieving effective the desired result.
