By: Bashir Hassan Abubakar
To mark World Contraception Day 2026, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Board joined forces during a public awareness walk to call for increased domestic investment in family planning services.
UNFPA Resident Representative Muriel Mafico, whose message was read by Bauchi Program Officer Deborah Tabara, commended state authorities for funding direct commodity procurement.
However, she stressed that continuous, sustained funding is vital to extend supply chains into remote villages, minority communities, and areas affected by humanitarian crises.
UNFPA emphasized that reliable access to contraceptives directly drives female empowerment and economic stability, moving beyond mere availability to grant women true reproductive agency.
Mafico noted that many women still face barriers to achieving their desired family size due to limited contraceptive options or outright lack of access.
True autonomy, she explained, requires delivering quality-assured choices along with accurate information, empowering women and girls to decide whether, when, and how many children to have free from coercion.
Reinforcing this message, Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed—represented by Director of Disease Control Dr. Safwan Ahmed Jibrin—urged couples across the state to adopt modern family planning methods.
He highlighted that the annual commemoration serves as a critical platform to dispel common myths, raise public awareness on reproductive health, and guarantee safe, voluntary contraceptive options throughout local communities.
