By Isiaka Babatunde
Pathfinder International is a renowned sexual reproductive agency with prime focus on advocacy for better funding, better policies and better enabling environment for family planning (FP) in Nigeria.
The agency’s focal point of attention is to engage on aggressive advocacy campaign to consistently and meticulously assist the reproductive age women and girls in having access to family planning services for enhanced better living condition.
This is achieved via aggressive enlightenment about the value of FP and thereafter advise mothers to embrace child spacing for improved contraceptive prevalence rate.
As a journalist, and being a media officer for the Awareness Initiative for Good Living (AIGL), a Kwara based Non Governmental Organisation, I came in direct contact with Pathfinder International through the AIGL in October 2019 when I attended a programme at it’s instance in Abuja in October 2019.
It is amazing to note that between October 2019 and August 2020, I have the privilege to participate in over four different Pathfinder International’s advocacy programmes in Abuja, Lagos and Kwara states. The recent was the just concluded “Data Driven Reporting”, a five-week virtual training that held between July and August 2020.
My first encounter was a three-day annual review and work plan meeting held in Abuja with the State Advocacy Working Groups and Family Planning Coordinators from 12 Advance Family Planning (AFP) states of the country held in October 2019.
Another one was a-day FC2 Female Condom Training exercise organised by the Pathfinder International held at E-phoenix Hotel, Ilorin, Kwara state capital also in October 2019.
Similarly, the agency also trained people on effective documentation in Lagos in December 2019. It also organised a five-day Advance Family Planning (AFP) workshop on resource mobilization and Grant proposal for advocacy working groups in Abuja in January 2020.
The latest was the “webinar” on “Data Driven reporting”, a 10-day workshop Programme that spanned through five weeks between July and August, 2020.
To say that Pathfinder International has made a tremendous impact on FP prevalence in Nigeria is to repeat the obvious. As a matter of fact, many households including yours sincerely have benefited from the enlightenment programme of the agency on family planning and child spacing using Pathfinder International as a good platform.
More interestingly, the agency is peopled with qualified and competent workforce who are experts in their various areas of specialization. This singular feat in addition with the zeal commitment of the agency, informed the spectacular achievements being recorded by Pathfinder International since it’s establishment.
My candid advice to this insightful agency is to keep the good work going, posterity will hold it for you that you played your part when the society needed your kind help.
Congratulations as you attain 55 years of positive contributions to the society.
Isiaka Babatunde is the Treasurer of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kwara State Council.
Editor of www.highprofile.com.ng
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