The Anambra Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, has advised women and families to embrace family planning to cope with economic hardships.
He made the call at The Challenge Initiative (TCI) End of Project Dissemination Meeting and launch of the Family Planning Cost
Implementation Plan on Friday in Awka with the theme “Journey Towards State Government Self-Reliance and Chronicles of Sustainable Impact at Scale for Reproductive Health in Anambra.”
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), family planning is the ability of individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired number of children and spacing and timing of their births, achieved through the use of contraceptives.
Obidike said that family planning was widely recognised as one of the most cost-effective health interventions as it save lives and improves maternal and child health.
According to him, family planning services also allows individuals to achieve desired birth spacing and family size.
He explained that “economic hardship is affecting some families, especially those with many children that they cannot cater for.
“This is why we are urging families to adopt family planning to attain a higher quality of life because they will have the opportunity to prevent pregnancies, plan and space their children as desired.
“Family planning prevents birth-related complications for both mother and child and has the long-term benefits of empowering women and reducing poverty.
Families that have the number of children they can afford to train are able to devote more time and resources to providing them with adequate food, education, clothing, shelter and other necessities.”
The commissioner commended the TCI project team as they had built the capacity of health workers and assisted in the areas of family planning data and research in the state.
He said the state government would take family planning services to the 21 local government areas to save lives, improve the health and wellbeing of women, families and communities.
The Country Director of TCI, Dr Victor Igharo, said the project was to support the state government in achieving increased uptake of family planning.
He said that “in Nigeria, for about five years, we have implemented and supported states to build platforms and structures to improve family planning indicators.
“We hope the skills acquired will support and enable the state governments to approach family planning issues for increased impact and sustainability.”
Dr Chioma Ezenyimulu, the Executive Secretary, Anambra Primary Healthcare Development Agency, said family planning commodities and consumables were provided free in accredited health facilities in the state.
She, therefore, urged the media to intensify awareness by putting family planning on the front burner of public discourse to eliminate barriers and increase uptake of services.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the TCI project is a four-year urban reproductive health programme funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which commenced in Anambra in July 2018.