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Tag: family planning

Can family planning save Nigeria from population explosion?
Nobody knows how many Nigerians there are. In Nigeria, like most other African countries, census figures are usually subjected to political manipulation. In 2015, the population was estimated to be 183 million, according to data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the National Population Commission (NPC). A 2017 United Nations report estimates that in 2050, Nigeria will be the third most populous nation in the world after China and India.

As a country, Nigeria is ill-equipped to cater for its current population. About 112 million Nigerians already live below the poverty line. A population explosion will lead to even more poverty in a country that is already struggling to provide basic infrastructure. Mass unemployment and mass migration to cities will become an even bigger problem. Crime rates are bound to rise as people flee the villages in search of better opportunities that are already scarce in urban areas. Infrastructure in the cities like roads and bridges is also likely to collapse under the weight it will be forced to carry.

Nigerians are very religious and traditional people – this actively contributes to the country’s population crisis. Christianity and Islam have almost equal population, with very few people identifying with atheism and traditional religions. In Nigeria, children are considered a blessing from God and the higher the number of children, the more blessed a person is deemed. To regulate the number of children a person must have is to try to play God.

Islam, Christianity, and traditional Nigerian religions actively hinder family planning through their teachings, although Christians are more likely to use birth control than their Muslim counterparts. This is predominant in rural areas where religion is as a way of life. In urban areas, due to education and globalisation, however, a lot of young Nigerians are opting for family planning.

Local inheritance laws are a major factor contributing to population growth. Daughters do not carry their family name after marriage and are not allowed to inherit family properties in some parts of the country. The pursuit of male heirs often results in couples having more children than they can comfortably cater for.

High infant mortality in rural areas also encourages high birthrates. Parents are unsure which children will survive, so they have more as insurance.

Children also help families make a living––they work with their parents on farms, hawk wares in traffic, and sometimes help beg for alms.

In the absence of social programmes, children are also figured in retirement plan. They care for their parents in old age. The more children you have, the better the quality of your life later on.

The need for effective family planning in Nigeria cannot be overstated.

Other than its benefits to population control, family planning helps women take charge of their lives. Women who get married before completing their basic education can stay in school longer with family planning. Family planning helps women to limit their pregnancies; this in turn has direct impact on the quality of their lives.

Proper family planning gives women a chance to engage in economic activities which results in increase in family earnings. An increase in family earnings means families are able to invest more in the education of their children. Family planning can help reduce infant mortality rates.

According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) policy brief, family planning can reduce maternal deaths by 40 per cent, infant mortality by 10 per cent, and childhood mortality by 21 per cent.

Some family planning methods – such as condoms – help prevent the transmission of HIV and other Sexually-Transmitted Diseases (STDs). STD diagnosis, treatment and counselling are part of the services included in family planning services. Family planning programmes give participants the information and help they need to protect themselves and their partners from unintended pregnancies, HIV and other infections.

Family planning is also useful in preventing and managing adolescent pregnancies. Nigeria has the highest teenage birth rate in Africa. The NPC reported that more than 60 million teenage pregnancies were recorded in the country in 2015. Adolescent pregnancy has a detrimental effect on the education and future plans of teenagers. Girls who become pregnant have the tendency to drop out of school and may suffer social stigma. Adolescent pregnancy also contributes to the high number of infant mortality in the country.

In a country with very limited resource to handle a population explosion, family planning must be brought to the forefront. Most of the family planning efforts in Nigeria are carried out by non-governmental organisations (NGOs). According to the 2017 Budget, Nigeria will spend N915 million on the provision and distribution contraceptive commodities as part of counterpart fund. This fund and its use need to be properly monitored. Government also needs to step in and tackle social norms which stand in the way of family planning. Not much can be achieved if people are not well informed.

Most family planning programmes in Nigeria are targeted at women. This can be blamed for their partial failure. Men and religious leaders need to be involved if family planning will work. They need to be involved because they are the major decision makers in the society.
- Juliana, a gender equality and community health advocate, writes from Abuja
August 24, 2017
Traditional/herbal solution for family planning
Managing Director, Health Forever Product Limited, Lagos Otunba Olajuwon Okubena writes on this.

I am delighted to submit my ideas on the issue of how Traditional or Herbal medication could be of tremendous relevance to the problem of family planning in Nigeria and also contribute to its potential for earning foreign exchange.

Nigeria was represented at the Family Planning Summit held in London a couple of weeks ago by the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, who explained why the country is investing $4 million in the Global Family Planning initiative.

According to the Minister, family planning is one of the strongest anti-poverty strategies and low-hanging fruit for reducing maternal mortality. The success of the introduction of family planning as part of basic health in the health sector is to ensure that a woman’s right as a human right is realised. Nigeria wants to include Family Planning as part of basic healthcare to complement ante-natal services, and immunisation routine.

The new contraceptive methods would include sub-cutaneous Depo Medroxyprogesterone Acetate injections) which is an injectable, progestin-only contraceptive that provides highly effective, private, and relatively long-acting (three months), reversible contraception. Use of DMPA eliminates both the need for user action daily or near the time of sexual intercourse and the need for partner cooperation.

DMPA is a good contraceptive option for the following groups of women: Women who do not want to take a contraceptive pill daily, women who have a contraindication to, or wish to avoid, an estrogen-containing contraceptive and women who would like to eliminate regular menses.

This initiative on the part of the Federal Government is commendable, but I want to remind the Minister that we should to look inwards for solutions to our problems.

The Minister during his briefing with Health Editors in Lagos to mark his one year in office said there were many things Nigerians could benefit from traditional medicine. Some of them, according to him, are bone setting and healing with herbal plants, saying that his ministry will explore how to assist herbal healers on how to improve their practice, especially in standardising their products.

I quote: “That will help us as a country to export them, instead of the plethora of foreign herbal products that have taken over the market. We have a lot to learn from China and even Ghana, but gradually we are getting there. The way traditional medicine is now can’t be compared with what obtained some centuries ago,” Adewole said.

He said Nigeria was in the forefront of research and development of herbal plants. “A quick search into National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRID) shows how indigenous herbal-plants have been researched, developed and packaged into life-saving products, so we have a lot to boast of in that sector. We only need to hone the skill of the practitioners,” he said.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), traditional medicine is the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not. It is used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness.

“To ensure that this sector is re

As far as Traditional Medicine is concerned in Nigeria, it seems to me that we are only experiencing what I would describe as motion without movement.In China, India, Germany and other parts of the world, Natural and Traditional Medicine is well set up and could be clearly identified within the healthcare delivery system. Unfortunately, the case is different in Nigeria. The African Union (AU) mandated that the member states of which Nigeria is prominent should use the decade of 2001-2010 to set up the institution of Traditional medicine and ensure that the establishments stand side by side with the orthodox clinics and hospitals to give citizens a choice for their healthcare requirements. It is another extra decade after the expiration of the AU’s mandate and nothing is visible in Nigeria. All hopes are not lost, thanks to the current Minister of Health, who had expressed strong believe and conviction in the relevance of Traditional medicine to our healthcare system. But his term will expire in less than two years. The question to ask is: Has he got any magic wand to make an indelible mark in this matter within this short space of time? If he works very hard, he could at least lay a solid foundation which would not be easily demolished by his successors.

Now is the time for the Federal Government to take the bull by the horn. In the Traditional system, there are herbal preparations that are affordable and do not need the elaborate implementation as required for the injectable options in the orthodox system.

Herbal preparation with a promise for Nigeria

About 30 years ago, I was a witness to a demonstration of the awesome power in traditional medicine to solve the family planning problem. A close relation who had for a long time been using the orthodox drugs got fed up because of the side effects and therefore consulted a herbalist who gave her a herbal formulation which worked. I waited for several months to watch the outcome of this intervention and confirmed that it was working and out of curiosity, I decided to investigate. The herbalist after a long period of persuasion agreed to reveal this formula to me. It was interesting and simple.

There is a plant known as IROSUN (The botanical name is Baphia Nitida). The wonderful aspect of this preparation is that different parts of the same tree would be used for preventing pregnancy and for restoring fertility. The bark of the root prepared in a particular way would prevent pregnancy permanently (it has superior power to Depo Medroxyprogesterone Acetate which is only effective for three months). To restore fertility, the leaves of the tree are also prepared in a particular way and the effect was also immediate.

I have tried this formulation on at least ten subjects and the result was excellent. I could not go on with further development and research owing to the huge financial implications. The orthodox drug being embraced by the Federal Government would have cost the manufacturers several millions of dollars and Nigeria is investing so much in this finished product. I believe that with a modest investment in research, Nigeria would likely have an exportable product if this type of product is developed.

Delving deeper into the investigation on the wonderful Irosun tree, I found from literature that it is recognised by the Ifa worshippers as the mysterious tree through which Orunmila as the progenitor of humanity descended from heaven to the Earth for the first time. The tree is also known as The Tree of Life or Creation. The powder of the dried stem of this tree is the backbone of Ifa Oracular practice. It is used for divination and through it, the oracle communicates with humanity on any subject in nature.

The ethnobotanical data in Dr. Duke’s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases confirmedsome of the Ethnobotanical and folk medicinal uses of Irosun plant (Baphia nitida) as follows:

Arthritis, carminative, dysentery, enteritis, fungicide, gastritis, Jaundice. Laxative, newborn, parasiticide, preventitive (Bee sting). Rheumatism, ringworm, skin, sprain, stiffness, swelling.

Venereal, Wound

In addition to its needed effects, some unwanted effects may be caused by medroxyprogesterone. In the event that any of these side effects do occur, they may require medical attention.

While the Irosun plant medication has not been known to have side effects, information from the website drug.com showed a long list of major and minor sider effects of medroxyprogesterone.

The way forward

A couple of years ago, we set up an organisation known as Research Institute of Traditional and Alternative Medicine(RITAM) with the following goals and vision:
- To prospect, harness, evaluate and certify diagnostic, curative and preventive values of safe traditional medicine products thereby developing a resource compendium of medicines for the Primary Health Care Centre (PHC) in all the 774 local government areas as well as for the use of all Traditional and Alternative Medicine practitioners home and overseas.
- To find lasting solutions to WHO priority list of diseases i.e. Malaria, Hypertension, Diabetes, Sickle Cell Anemia and HIV/AIDS through Nigerian Traditional Medicine.
- To have a comprehensive data of traditional medicine products that should be recommended for preclinical and human trials at the Nigerian Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) and Nigeria Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) and other Research Centres particularly the Nigerian Teaching Hospitals in the process of their becoming Herbal Drugs.
- To provide candidate herbal drugs that would be included in the National Drug Formulary.
- To ensure that at least 50 herbal products would have been certified as being evidence based in the •To collaborate with all Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Science and Technology, Education, Environment and other relevant government agencies to propagate Traditional and Alternative Medicine in Nigeria.
- To position traditional medicine products from Nigeria in the international market, thereby making TM products the highest income generating industry for the country.
- To encourage mass production of endorsed traditional medicine products.
The organisation functioned for some time and became moribund for lack of financial support by the appropriate authorities. This is the type of private sector initiative that should be supported and encouraged by the Ministry of Health to jumpstart the needed revolution necessary for the integration of traditional/herbal medicine to the healthcare delivery system in the country.

In concluding, I wish to emphasize that this article is not meant to encourage readers to try remedies, particularly herbal or traditional, that have not been subjected to scientific tests for safety and efficacy. Until, the Federal Ministry of Health endorses tested local remedies, it is advisable to embrace the efforts being currently championed by the Federal Government.

I am willing to collaborate with doctors, scientists and other research centres in Nigeria to develop this formulation to a level where it would complement Government effort to find a lasting solution to family planning problems in the country.

Readers can send their reaction to this article to:

okubena@health-forever.com
August 3, 2017
‘Why Nigeria is investing more in family planning’

Nigeria was represented at the Family Planning Summit held in London last week. On the sideline of the event, the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, spoke with OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA on why the country is investing $4 million in the Global Family Planning initiative, among other issues.

Why is Nigeria restrategising on family planning?

Family Planning is one of the strongest anti-poverty strategies and low-hanging fruit for reducing maternal mortality. The success of the introduction of family planning as part of basic health in the health sector is to ensure that a woman’s right as a human right is realised. We want to include Family Planning as part of basic healthcare.

This is to complement ante-natal services, and immunisation routine. Under this commitment, we will remove all barriers so as to improve access. We will remove regulatory barriers and scale up access to new contraceptive methods, such as sub-cutaneous Depo Medroxyprogesterone Acetate injections (Sayana Press). To transform its last-mile distribution of health and family planning commodities as a country, we will use a push-model system, and collaborate with the private sector to optimally transport, store and track commodities using an electronic logistics management system. A new tracking and accountability system will report yearly and real-time, expenditures for family planning at national and state levels. There will be a distribution of $6million to states through loans to the success of introduction of family planning as part of basic health in the sector.

How do you want to get this project done?

The government will increase the number of health facilities providing family planning services in each of its states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to 20,000 and leverage its 10,000 functional primary health care facilities to raise awareness about family planning. In this vein, Nigeria will partner stakeholders and gatekeepers to reduce socio-cultural barriers for family planning services, by collaborating with ministries to ensure the provision of age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health information to youth through the Family Life Health Education Curriculum and youth-friendly services in health facilities and other outlets. To address financial barriers, the government will collaborate with states, donors and other stakeholders on a health insurance scheme to make household family planning expenditures reimbursable.

Why is this project receiving so much commitment?

With a population of over a 400 million, by 2050, Nigeria may soon emerge as the largest country in the West Africa region and the third largest in the world – that will be demographic disaster as a country. Nigeria has over 3.8 million married and sexually active adolescents – from 15 to 19 of whom 19 percent have an unmet need for contraception. If Nigeria was to increase its focus on adolescents, enabling an additional 584,000 adolescent girls to use modern contraception by 2020, then Nigeria would see a 14 percent reduction in its adolescent birth rate. That is why we are investing in our youths, adolescents, and women. We must invest in the girl child for demographic dividend. Reducing unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortions and improved health and well-being is important to reap demographic dividends. Access to contraception and family planning programmes is one of the most cost-effective ways to break the cycle of poverty.

And you think it won’t be another white elephant project?

Most barriers have been identified. All these barriers will also be removed, and policies implemented with new vigour by partnering the private sector-Patient medicine/drug vendors to ensure commodities get to the targeted end users. Barriers to the success of family planning will be identified and brought down, just as the Berlin wall was brought down in those days. Serious focus is to break down the barriers hindering females, especially women and youths, from accessing commodities and services. This will bring us to speed with modern day use of contraceptives. The ministry will be collaborating with its partners and the private sector to achieve a modern contraceptive rate of 27 percent among all women by 2020. We have realised that there is a huge disparity between optimal uses of modern contraceptives across the country. In the Northeast, the use of modern contraceptive use is about three percent and about 35 percent in the Southeast. We are doing things in a different way to ensure Nigeria is not left behind in the attainment of FP2020. Nigeria’s commitment of four million dollars will go a long way in reaching thousands of women and girls with critical reproductive health information. This project is domicile in the office of the vice presiden

Over the years don’t you think the country is going in circle on the issue of family planning?

This meeting is more than family planning delivery. It is also about strategy, sharing of ideas, and rededicating ourselves to the task of delivering quality services to the people. We are changing the narrative of family planning- as an anti poverty strategy. That family planning is synonymous with future planning. Apart from reducing poverty it will contribute to the prosperity agenda o any nation. When family plans for the future- to have the number of children they can cater for, can make savings and invest in their future and spend more on education, health and infrastructure. So family planning is a global strategy for promoting development.

The country is about coming out of recession, how will it fly with this project?

About three weeks ago, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a Memo of Understanding on Family Planning. Nigeria has a unique strategy which is a basket fund contributed to by USAID, DFID, other nations of the world including Nigeria and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. We all agreed to renew the commitment for another four years. We will also increase our domestic contribution to the basket. In the 2017 budget, we have 90.17million and FEC approved that the entire money should be transferred to the basket. We will put more next year. The presence of the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning in this Summit is very instructing. Everybody is excited by our participation as a country in this meeting. So for us in Nigeria, in spite of the fiscal challenges, we have demonstrated our commitment, with a strong resolve to continue to fund family planning. We will not use only budgetary allocations; we will also use other sources of funding to improve our participation in the global fund family planning initiative. We are also exploring other options- we call it, Business unusual- we will improve on quality services, train people and move from 10000 service points to 20000. Every health outlet/primary health centre delivers family planning services.

Religion plays a huge role in the life of Nigerians. So how will certain religions allow their women use family planning commodities?

Planning of one’s family goes beyond religion. We are encouraging people to plan. Planning will involve a broader platform where we talk about sexuality education in schools, saying no to premarital sex, advocating abstinence, and using family planning even in families, and including adoption. So, the strategy is that no single individual can say no to all of the options. You must pick one. And no religion is against adoption, sexuality education, abstinence, or sexual education.

So if a woman has about eight children and discovers that she gets pregnant, what will you suggest in the face of the law of the land- no termination of pregnancy ?

Until the law is changed the woman will be advised to keep to the law of the land. If a first pregnancy is not planned for, the second can be planned for. So my advice is that, even if you have made a mistake with the first eight in getting pregnant, don’t make mistake with the ninth.

What is that new thing you want to avail Nigerian women from this summit as you get home?

That every woman should be able to get to health centres or health outlets and obtain free family planning commodities and services. That is what the FEC has approved before leaving for this summit. In 2012, Nigeria launched free contraceptive commodities programme. We have re-launched it and recommitted ourselves to it. We will implement and sustain it.

What are the major challenges you are facing in all these?

The challenges are the same that we had to deal with over time. The issue of provider bias, inadequate human resources, inadequate funding, low level of awareness, poor education, socio-cultural barriers, challenges from men. All these are recurring challenges. We aren’t given up. We are working together with all stakeholders- both for and against because there is a lot of strength in partnership. We all can bring down these barriers. The media will play a huge role in educating the Nigerian populace about the benefits of this, what we need to do in getting things right and that as a nation, we must get it right.

July 21, 2017
Nigeria increases funding commitments for Family Planning

Nigeria has increased its funding to commitments for expanding access to family planning for millions of women and girls worldwide to four million dollars.

The Health Minister, Professor Isaac Adewole made this declaration at the Family Planning Summit in London, United Kingdom, where more than 60 governments and partners pledged commitments of at least $2.5 billion.

Professor Adewole said Nigeria’s commitment will go a long way in reaching thousands of women and girls with critical reproductive health information.

Nigeria has over 3.8 million married and sexually active adolescents (ages 15-19) of whom 19 percent have an unmet need for contraception. If Nigeria is to increase its focus on adolescents, enabling an additional 584,000 adolescent girls to use modern contraception by 2020, the country would see a 14 percent reduction in its adolescent birth rate.

He said there will be a distribution of $6m to states through loans to the success of introduction of family Planning as part of basic health in the health sector. This is to complement ante natal services, and immunisation routine.

Prof Adewole said barriers will also be removed, and policies implemented with new vigour by partnering with the private sector-Patient medicine/drug vendors to ensure commodities get to the targeted end users.

“Barriers to the success of family planning will be identified and brought down, just as the Berlin wall was brought down in those days. Serious focus is to break down the barriers hindering females, especially women and youths from accessing commodities and services. This will bring us to speed with modern day use of contraceptives. The ministry will be collaborating with its partners and the private sector to achieve a modern contraceptive rate of 27 percent among all women by 2020.

“There is a huge disparity between usage in the northern part and southern part of the country. We will also remove the roadmap for the realisation of demographic dividends. With a population of over a 400 million population, Nigeria can soon emerge the largest country in West Africa region that will be demographic disaster.”

The Minister said: “Nigeria will use its Minimal Initial Service Package for sexual reproductive health to provide family planning supplies within its national crisis preparedness and response. We will remove regulatory barriers and scale up access to new contraceptive methods such as sub-cutaneous Depo Medroxyprogesterone Acetate injections (Sayana Press).

“To transform its last-mile distribution of health and family planning commodities, as a country we will use a push-model system, and collaborate with the private sector to optimally transport, store and track commodities using an electronic logistics management system. A new tracking and accountability system will report annually and real-time, expenditures for family planning at national and state levels. “

He added that the government will increase the number of health facilities providing family planning services in each of its states and federal territory to 20,000 and leverage its 10,000 functional primary health care facilities to raise awareness about family planning.

The government will partner with stakeholders and gatekeepers to reduce socio-cultural barriers for family planning services, including by collaborating with line ministries to ensure the provision of age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health information to youth through the Family Life Health Education Curriculum and youth-friendly services in health facilities and other outlets.

“Nigeria committed increasing its annual allocation for contraceptives to $4 million USD and to ensure total disbursement of $56 million to the states through its participating in the Global Financing Facility and via international development assistance loans so Nigeria can expand the implementation of its task-shifting policy to include patent medicine vendors and community volunteers to improve access to family planning services in difficult-to-reach areas and among disadvantaged populations, ” the Minister stated.

July 12, 2017
UK commits £225m to family planning

In a bid to enable women and girls the chance to own their body and decide not to have babies too early in life, the United Kingdom is committing £225 million to family planning.

Secretary of State for International Development Priti Patel revealed that Britain will be in the forefront of changing the lives of girls in developing countries.

She added that the British government will boost funding for family planning by 25%, while £225 million pounds will be spent on family planning in the next two years.

Patel disclosed this on Tuesday at the London family planning Summit 2017, where she said that the British government will reach women and girls with technology.

“We need to give women and girls in developing countries access to contraceptives and family planning by giving them the chance to own their body and decide not to have babies early in life.

“The British government will boost funding for family planning by 25% and increase funding for family planning by £225m in the next two years.”

Canadian Minister of International Development, Marie-Claudia Bibeau said Canada is committed to increase family planning.

She said her country is willing to commit $240m to support 19 initiatives around the world that supports the rights of women and girls in developing countries.

She also said that $166.5m will be used to profile the needs of women and girls, noting that access to family planning and contraceptives needs to be made available to them.

At the summit, the government of Norway committed $50m, Finland increased its pledge from €20m to €21.3m, Netherlands €5m, Denmark $15b, while India committed to increase its spending on family planning to $3b by 2020.

July 11, 2017
Nigerian govt urged invest in family planning

The Nigerian government has urged to invest more in the provision of sexual reproductive health services as a way of keeping on track the development of the country.

National Population Commission, Director in Gombe state, Usman Shehu Ibrahim spoke in Gombe at a press conference organised as part of the activities to commemorate the 2017 World Population Day (WPD) with the theme: ‘Family planning, birth spacing: Empowering people, developing nation.’

He said the huge investments in building social and physical infrastructure and other critical sectors of Nigeria’s national life would not yield maximum benefits unless the women and the girl child had an unfettered access to sexual and reproductive information and services.

“The present situation in which access to family planning information and services is severely limited in unacceptable and definitely counterproductive to our march towards sustainable development.

“The health status and general wellbeing of our women and girl child have the capacity to influence our development process,” Ibrahim said.

He said an estimated 225million women in developing countries would have liked to delay or stop childbearing but are not using contraception, but “fulfilling their demand would avert 60 million unintended pregnancies around the world.”

Accordingly, Alhassan Yahya, Chairman, Maternal Newborn Health Coalition (MNCH), Gombe called on the state government to create a budget line for family planning in the 2017 supplementary budget or in the 2018 budget.

He also among other things called for equitable trained medical professionals to provide cost-effective Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child and adolescent Health (RMNCAH) services, especially in rural and hard to reach communities in the state.

Yahya nevertheless called on the populace to shelve the misconception and baseless myths about birth control and save themselves from the ills of unwanted/untimely pregnancies.

He insisted “Men should play active role in encouraging and supporting their women in family planning (FP) uptake. Men should also be involved in FP uptake. FP is for both men and women”.

July 11, 2017
Group advises women on family planning

A group, Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health in Nigeria (PACFaH) has advised women who are yet to undergo family planning to see it as succour to the micro and macro- economic development.

Speaking at an advocacy skills and Strategy Capacity Building Workshop, representative of PACFaH, Mrs. Anu Rotimi said family planning is essential to enhance economic well-being, especially now that the country is witnessing economic downturn

Mrs. Rotimi noted that couples with fewer children are better able to provide for them with healthcare, food, housing, clothing and education and enable protection against unintended pregnancy.

She said they were only advocating and not lobbying the government to see the initiative as a way forward to save lives of mothers and their babies by at least contributing about 18 per cent into the health care initiative.

June 6, 2016
Women to Oyo govt: do more on family planning

Women in Oyo State have urged government to strengthen its support towards family planning.

The women urged the Oyo State government to partner theNigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI).

They appealed to government to provide technical assistance for primary health care centres in the state to run its family planning initiative.

The women and the Chief Nursing Officer of the Bode, Ibadan Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC), Mrs Wumi Baruwa, spoke at a family planning outreach organised by NURHI. Women were given the opportunity to ask questions on the health initiative.

Mrs Baruwa urged the state government to also key into the methods being used by the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) to achieve its objective.

She lauded the activities of NURHI in sensitising women at the grassroots on the importance of family planning,noting that the efforts of the NGO had helped to create more awareness among rural women.

“The awareness created by the NURHI has now allowed health workers to counsel women on family planning easily. Unlike before it was not easy to convince and counsel them easily.

“We used to have more women participating now everyday in one family planning technique or the other; atleast 20 weekly, while we have between 35 to 40 new clients every month for family planning. During NURHI outreach like this we used to have like 50 new clients coming for family planning,” she said

Mrs Baruwa dispelled the rumour that there is a side effect associated with family planning, stressing that most women that have issues with it do not go to professional health officers for family planning.

Also, some women who came for the NURHI outreach at Apata Primary Health Centre told Southwest Report that that the intervention of NURHI had led to increase in the number of women seeking such services in their communities.

Mrs Bola Babatope said they were given orientation and counselling on family planning methods and other health issues.

“I want to commend NURHI for renovating the family planning unit and for the training of workers.

“If we can get NGOs like this that will assist, the health sector will improve greatly,” Babatope said

She advised women to plan their families for sustainable healthy living.

Mrs Afusat Jinadu said she preferred the implant family planning method, stressing that NURHI had changed her perception of family planning.

She urged government to assist NURHI in order to create more awareness among women about the essence of family planning.

July 8, 2015
Oyo women embrace family planning

Some women in Oyo State have commended the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI), an NGO, for providing accessible family planning services for their communities.

The women, who spoke with reporters, said the intervention had led to increase in the number of women seeking such services in their communities.

A visit to Eleyele Primary Health Centre, Ibadan a 40-year-old mother of three, Mrs Sade Babalola said she uses the long acting method of family planning due to its advantage.

She said: “I have been doing the injectables for the past 15 years but it has failed me and I am just adding weight. So, I decided to change to the implant because I am of age and don’t need another child. Before the implant, I also used the loop, but the side effect was much and I had to go for scanning because the loop usually comes out by itself. My stomach was big and I was adding weight.”

Also, Alhaja Sekinat Alabi., a mother of three, said she went for the implant after realising that she was always sick when she took injections.

Continuing, Mrs. Alabi said:”Each time I take injection, I am always sick and I bleed; I am happy we got good orientation about the implant and I decided to embrace it because it has no side effect.”

But Mrs Kehinde Salawu, 25, and a mother of two, said she needed to space her children in order to live a healthy life.

“I was a teenager when I got married. I need to further my education; that is why I preferred the implant to injectables,” she said.

The Matron of Eleyele Primary Health Centre, Mrs. Bukola Ajala, said between 15 and 25 women access the family planning services.

She said the women were given orientation and counselling on family planning methods and other health issues.

“I commend NURHI for giving women an eye opener on how to space child bearing. Women now appreciate family planning more and if we can get groups such as this that will assist; the health sector will improve greatly. Women should plan their families for sustainable healthy living.”

Ajala said more women now prefer the implant, even as she added that the centre has enough commodities and other family planning services available for women.

June 10, 2015
More women embrace family planning in Ibadan

Family Planning clinics in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital are receiving more patronage thanks to renewed awareness among women. TAYO JOHNSON reports.

Hundreds of women in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, are now embracing different types of family planning techniques to delay pregnancies, to enjoy social and economic input, as well as have good healthcare.

And credit for this goes to the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI), which has in thelast four years been sensitising people in five local government areas in the city about the benefit of the health initiative.

At one of the primary healthcare centre at Basorun, Ibadan where the women have been receiving family planning tips, the former Chief Nursing Officer of the clinic and Mrs Christian Solagbemi, disclosed that over 200 women are registering for family planning monthly at the centre.

•A client, Mrs Risikat Adigun

She told The Nation that :”We record about close to 125 to 200 new clients every month because NURHI gave us everything for free and the client doesn’t have to pay for anything. They also provided a conducive environment. They made things to be comfortable for the clients and the provider, and this attracted the clients.

“In the last few years, women in Ibadan communities are embracing family planning due to much awareness on it and it’s safer and better for a healthy lifestyle for women and single ladies.It has reduced unwanted pregnancy among married women and youths.

“Although we have a lot of misconception about it but with public awareness, people have started recognising it’s benefit. Some women believe that having family planning will make their tummy to be swollen, cease or change their menstral cycle, while others think that it will not allow them to be able to bear a child again.

“Also some husbands are of the belief that with family planning their wives will be cheating on them” she said

•Waiting room at the family planning clinic

To address all this misconceptions Solagbemi said the first step is to tutor the client on the importance of family planning after which they will be allowed to choose the method they desire. However, she said the Clinic at times choose a family planning method for a client but on few occassions.” She said

Explaining how it works, Solagbemi said:” Before we used to have Intra-Urine Device (IUCD) method, it use to be giving to our client who probably has hard enough clinic and given might decide she doesn’t want children again. It last for 12 years. But in case she wants children again it can be removed and we also have the shortest one which is the use of pills and implants. Test will first be conducted on the client to know if she is not pregnant and which method will be more suitable for them.

“The effect of this has given our clients more confidence, and it enables them to space their children, take care of their children and family. Before they were worried about the finances involved in family planning, bearing in mind that poverty is very high in the country and some women cannot even afford to pay N300 for it, but since it is free, more women are embracing embrace the family planning technique. Some of them are even bringing in more of thier firends and they now have happy homes with their husband”

She further stated that in the past, some women were ignorant of family planning, but with the assistance of NURHI and Ministry of Health, more awareness has been created.

Sharing her experience on family planning, 33-year-old Omowumi Kehinde, a mother of three, said the injection method of family planning has been of great assistance to her health since she started three years ago.

Although she stated that she was scared to go into it in the first place, but after she eventually delved into the family planningmethod, it has been effective and there is no side effect attached to it as it was being speculated in some quarters.

“My husband was aware when I wanted to start the family planning method and , he encouraged me and it has helped my home to grow. I will urge other women in the country to embrace family planning technique” She said

April 29, 2015