Advocating for adequate and reliable funding for sexual and reproductive health and rights: A call to action for clinicians

Abstract

The past two years have been hugely difficult for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services in Nigeria. The COVID-19 pandemic has stretched health systems beyond capacity, put enormous strain on healthcare workers, and increased barriers to sexual and reproductive health care for patients. Funding cuts and uncertainty, such as cuts to the UK’s Official development assistance (ODA) budget, have added to these challenges. Together, the pandemic and funding issues have exposed and exacerbated inequality in access to SRHR services. There is, therefore, an urgent need for clinicians to raise their voices and advocate for adequate and reliable funding for SRHR services and the prioritisation of SRHR in donor funding.

Sexual and reproductive health services in Nigeria are currently facing multiple funding problems. In 2019, the Nigerian Government announced drastic cuts to counterpart funding matching family planning grants from donors, including UNFPA, UNICEF, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and severe cuts to the national health budget¹. As international donor funding became more vital in light of these national government cuts, the UK Government announced drastic cuts to its ODA budget.