The European Union (EU) and Kwara State Government have intensified collaboration to strengthen reproductive and adolescent healthcare, emphasizing improved health services, workforce capacity, family planning, and community engagement. This initiative follows a two-day mission by an EU delegation led by Massimo De Luca, Head of Partnerships at the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, which included meetings with Kwara State officials to assess progress under EU-supported health interventions. De Luca highlighted the importance of evaluating how partnerships translate into tangible community benefits, stating, "It is very important that we take stock, and we see how we are moving together."
The EU-funded Strengthening Access to Reproductive and Adolescent Health (EU-SARAH) programme, implemented by UNICEF and UNFPA in collaboration with Nigerian government institutions, operates in Adamawa, Kwara, and Sokoto states. In Kwara, the programme targets reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health, contributing to Nigeria’s universal health coverage goals. A key focus is on domestic investment and government ownership, with De Luca noting, "With the growing budget from our side, we would also like to understand how much Kwara is investing and delivering to the health sector."
Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, represented by Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi, affirmed the state’s commitment to deepening coordination, evidence-based decision-making, and increasing local contributions to health services. Health Commissioner Amina El-Imam emphasized that EU-SARAH has enabled the state to identify gaps in service quality, workforce capacity, and community engagement, leading to improvements in health infrastructure, referrals, family planning, and adolescent services. She also highlighted the state’s counterpart funding for family planning commodities as a critical component of the partnership.
The collaboration underscores broader public-interest implications, addressing systemic healthcare gaps that disproportionately affect women, children, and adolescents in Nigeria. By prioritizing sustainable investments and cross-sectoral cooperation, the EU and Kwara State aim to create a model for scalable health interventions. As the programme progresses, its success in Kwara could inform similar efforts across Nigeria, aligning with global health equity objectives while reinforcing local governance and resource allocation strategies.