Ogun unveils family planning finance tracker to boost transparency, funding sustainability

The Ogun State Government has unveiled a Family Planning (FP) Finance Tracker as part of a renewed effort to strengthen reproductive health financing through improved transparency, accountability and sustainability.

The initiative was launched at a one-day stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Ogun State Primary Health Care Development Board in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The event brought together representatives of government ministries, departments and agencies, development partners, civil society organisations, the media and other key actors in the reproductive health sector.

Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, described the FP Finance Tracker as a strategic, evidence-based tool designed to provide clear insights into family planning financing in the state.

According to her, the tracker documents budgetary allocations, fund releases, actual expenditures and funding gaps within the family planning programme, thereby supporting better-informed planning and policy decisions.

Dr Coker explained that the dissemination was aimed at presenting and validating the findings of the Ogun State FP Finance Tracker, while also deepening stakeholders’ understanding of how family planning funds flow through the state’s health system.

She noted that the initiative would help strengthen accountability and guide targeted interventions to improve access to family planning services.

In his remarks, a representative of UNFPA, Dr Akinkunmi Akinbajo, stressed that sustainable domestic financing remained critical to ensuring uninterrupted access to family planning services, particularly for women, adolescents and underserved populations.

While acknowledging the role of donor support, he said states must increasingly take ownership of financing reproductive health programmes to guarantee long-term impact and resilience.

Earlier, in his welcome address, the Executive Secretary of the Ogun State Primary Health Care Development Board, Dr Elijah Ogunsola, said the forum was designed to stimulate robust multi-stakeholder dialogue on the sustainability of family planning financing and to identify priority actions for improving FP budget performance in the state.

Dr Ogunsola emphasised that the FP Finance Tracker was not merely a report but a decision-making tool that would promote transparency in the allocation and utilisation of limited resources.

He added that the tracker would strengthen accountability and support government and development partners in identifying gaps and opportunities for improved financing of family planning services.

According to him, discussions at the meeting focused on the need for stronger coordination among government institutions to enhance budgetary commitment to family planning, ensure timely release of approved funds and improve monitoring of expenditures.