The Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN) has urged the Federal Government to urgently address the growing funding gaps and stockouts of family planning commodities across Nigeria, warning that the situation could trigger severe health and economic consequences if left unresolved.
AHBN called on Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, to take immediate action to prevent a further deterioration in access to reproductive health services nationwide.
According to the network, data from the National Health Logistics Management Information System (LHMIS) and the District Health Information System (DHIS) revealed that 24 states are currently experiencing stockouts of family planning commodities, with the worst affected states located in the North-West and North-Central regions.
The organisation noted that only 13 states have recorded progress in the availability of family planning commodities, with the best-performing states concentrated in the South-West and South-East zones.
AHBN warned that the 2026 funding gap for contraceptive procurement could result in an estimated 2.3 million unintended pregnancies, about 241,000 unsafe abortions, and nearly 14,000 maternal deaths. The group also projected that Nigeria could lose approximately $280 million in potential health savings due to inadequate funding for family planning services.
The network expressed concern that persistent stockouts across supply chains are already reversing years of progress made in family planning and reproductive health services. It noted that many healthcare providers across the country are increasingly unable to offer sustained family planning services, thereby exposing women, adolescents, and children to heightened health risks.
AHBN further stated that the shortages have contributed to rising numbers of discontinued users of contraceptive services and growing unmet reproductive health needs nationwide.
The organisation stressed that sustained and predictable financing remains essential for Nigeria to achieve its national target of a 27.5 per cent modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (mCPR) by 2030.
According to AHBN, the release of the Federal Government’s pledged contribution toward family planning commodities would reduce the national funding gap to 69 per cent. However, failure to release the funds could widen the gap to 80 per cent, worsening supply shortages and prolonging stockouts nationwide.
The network called on the Federal Government to urgently fulfil its 2026 budget commitment for family planning and unlock the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) match fund valued at $4.5 million, alongside an additional $5 million Primary Health Care funding tied to the World Bank-Nigeria HOPE agreement.
AHBN also urged the Federal Ministry of Finance to sign Annex A of the UNFPA Supplies Partnership Compact of Commitments to facilitate access to the match fund.
The organisation further recommended moving the national family planning budget line to a service-wide vote component of the Appropriation Act to ensure reliable and sustainable funding.
In addition, AHBN called for the effective implementation of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Health Value Chain (PVAC), particularly in the area of local production of family planning and sexual and reproductive health commodities.
The network equally appealed to the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory Administration to establish dedicated budget lines for family planning and ensure the prompt release of at least one per cent of annual state health budgets to support reproductive health programmes in line with Nigeria’s FP2030 commitments.
AHBN also urged states to implement recommendations contained in the National Guidelines for State-Funded Procurement of family planning commodities and last-mile distribution systems.
Speaking on the issue, AHBN Coordinator, Aminu Magashi Garba, called on the Federal Government to leverage available international funding opportunities to improve access to family planning commodities for Nigerian women.
He said taking advantage of the UNFPA match fund and other international support mechanisms would significantly improve reproductive healthcare delivery and contribute to healthier living conditions for women across the country.