By Moses Emorinken, Abuja

The Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora has stated that family planning has the capacity to reduce maternal deaths in the country by 30 per cent.

According to the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) of 2018, 512 women die in every 100,000 live births in Nigeria.

Mamora, therefore, called for increased investment in family planning services at all levels of government, especially in the procurement of contraceptives.

He further stressed that for the country to achieve a 27-per cent modern contraceptive prevalence rate by 2024, members of the community must be sensitised to the immense benefits of family planning, and men need to be involved in family planning activities.

Mamora disclosed these in Abuja during the media launch of the National Family Planning Campaign by the Rotary Action Group for Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health (RMCH).

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He said: “Family planning is an important intervention for promoting proper timing and spacing of pregnancies, as well as assisting to achieve pregnancies where challenges exist. It also promotes maternal and child survival with a potential for reducing maternal and child mortality and morbidity by 30 per cent.

“In addition, a successful implementation is essential to achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“The Federal Ministry of Health has been collaborating with development partners to build synergy towards the provision of quality family planning information services for the purposes of prevention of unintended pregnancies, as well as for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS.

“As part of the government’s efforts to provide a roadmap for family planning implementation, as well as proper coordination, the Federal Ministry of Health revised the Nigeria Family Planning Blueprint (Scale-Up Plan 2020-2024), which was developed in 2014 as a follow up to the 2012 London Summit on Family Planning, to provide guidance for stakeholders for implementation of family planning in Nigeria.”

He added: “The Federal Ministry of Health is in the process of introducing and/or scaling up new family planning commodities to expand Nigeria’s Method Mix to allow for free choice. The Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate Subcutaneous Injection (DMPA-SC), which has been formulated to allow for self-injection. This is considered a game-changer in Nigeria’s Family Planning Landscape.

“In hard-to-reach areas, clients could be given some vials to take home after some training on its use. The Federal Ministry of Health is also in the process of finalising modalities for the inclusion of Hormonal Intrauterine devices in Nigeria’s public health system.

“The Federal Ministry of Health is in the process of finalising the National Guidelines for State-Funded Procurement of Contraceptive Commodities to bridge the gaps in family planning financing.

“Efforts are in top gear to finalize the National Private Sector Engagement Strategic Plan to comprehensively involve the private sector in family planning implementation to rapidly increase uptake.”

The National Coordinator of the Rotary Action Group for Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health (RMCH), Prof Emmanuel Lufadeju, in his address, explained that although 90 per cent of women know what family planning is, only 15 per cent are using modern contraception.

He therefore stressed that there is an urgent need to convince women of child-bearing age to space their children, in order to avoid risky pregnancies, and foster the use of approved and modern contraception.