Family planning Health benefits can never be over emphasized. Experts say it reduces maternal and child mortality; prevents high-risk pregnancies and gives mothers time to recover between births.
Economically, family planning improves child health; nutrition, promotes financial stability; ease pressure on health, education, and welfare systems.
Similarly, it increase household income and national productivity; encourages gender equality; helps women to make informed decisions about their reproductive health and future; reduces population pressure; supports sustainable development; as well as improves national health outcomes and socioeconomic development.
However, individuals can access different kinds of contraceptives methods available at the facilities and to administered by health care providers.
In Kwara State, this has been greatly embraced by majority of women in the state and there are success stones.
Giving account of stewardship, Adebayo Adefila (Dr), the State Program Manager – for The Challenge Initiative (TCI) has disclosed that Kwara recorded additional 17,592 new users of family planning, adding that injection, condom and Implant contraceptives top the chart for three major family planning methods clients uptake in Kwara State between 2022 and 2025.
Adefila, who was represented by Folusho Oyewale, at the Kwara State media roundtable on family planning, tagged; Kwara Family’s Planning Progress: Sustaining Partnerships for Lasting Impacts held in Ilorin, explained that the uptake of injection by users has 48 percent, followed by condom which is 32 percent and implant reached 12 percent.
He further revealed that TCI has injected over N45 Million in the last three years on family planning and has trained 65 master trainers, “over 100 nurses and midwives are trained for an effective family planning activities in the state, and about N45 million was injected as funding stream for the project.”
Adefila, however identified stock out, user fee charges in private hospitals, Insecurity in some parts of the state and method preference as some of the challenges TCI faced in the course of the three years operation in Kwara State.
For her, Bashirat Jatto the state family planning coordinator, who was represented by Hajarat Olumo noted that the state has been ensuring regular procurement of commodities as well as training and campaigns to boost the number of clients for family planning in the state.
Earlier, Biola Azeez, the chairman, Kwara State Media Advocacy Group, gave an overview of the group activities from February 2024 to date.
“The TCI, in collaboration with the Devcoms organized a capacity training programme among selected practicing journalists in Kwara State.
“The participants at the training programme cut across print, electronic and online media representatives were taken through advocacy, information and sensitization on family planning activities as well as methods to report carry out improved, data based family planning report in the state.
“At the end of the two-day training sessions, participants were formed into an advocacy group, named, Kwara State family planning Media Group”.
Azeez posits that since then, members of the group have being carrying out media advocacy activities in the area of family planning, aimed at promoting uptake of various methods among families and stakeholders in the state.
He however, called for improved funding and more media engagement, especially to rural areas of the state, so as to achieve desired goals on family planning activities in the state.
Other media practitioners sue for continuous training, awareness creation and research for sustainable development.
Mayowa Adeniran, representative from DevCom lauded media support and encouraged them to remain committed in strengthening and heralding health issues as it affects every facet of human life.
