Nigeria's Sokoto State Launches RAPID, Adds Budget Line for Child Spacing
December 4, 2017
Nigeria's Sokoto State is ratcheting up its commitment to development and slowing population growth. On November 24, 2017, Sokoto State Deputy Governor His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu launched the state-level RAPID (Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development), reaffirming the government's committed to continuing its promotion of child birth spacing.
Results from the Health Policy Plus (HP+) led application of the RAPID model in Sokoto showed that by reducing fertility to three births per woman by 2050, the state could save the state an estimated 70 billion naira in primary education costs and greatly reduce the number of doctors and jobs needed.
The state's 2018 proposed budget also includes a first ever budget line for child birth spacing and 100 million naira (or 281,000 U.S. dollars) for family planning.
Joining State Deputy Governor Aliyu at the launch—the third in a series of state-level launches organized by HP+ in Bauchi, Ebonyi, and Sokoto—were Dr. Balarabe Shehu Kakale, state Commissioner for Health; the Hon. Zayyanu Bello Gandi, Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Health Care Development Agency; His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar, representative of the Sultan of Sokoto; and members of the Sokoto State Child Birth Spacing Advocacy Working Group.
The launch was followed by a dinner where members of the Child Birth Spacing Advocacy Working Group, including HP+ Nigeria's Country Director Onoriode Ezire, were recognized for their work to promote child spacing throughout the state.
