By Winifred Bulus
Marie Stopes International Organisation Nigeria (MSION), has appealed to Kaduna state government to make more investment in family planning to avail child spacing services to more women in the state.
Country Director of the Organisation, N. Effiong, who made the appeal at the winding up of one of its projects, Family Health Plus (FH+), in Kaduna, northwest Nigeria said, family planning has become the most effective vaccination that reduces the burden of maternal deaths worldwide.
Represented by Kingsley Odogwu, the Country Director said, Marie Stopes had worked in Kaduna state to strengthen capacity of nurses and midwives in selected facilities and rendered sustainable family planning services.
The country Director also called on Nigerian women to subscribe to the Long Acting Reversible Contraceptive (LARC) method, which is less cumbersome and reduces the chances of women missing their hospital revisit dates.
“We want to change the mentality that provide women with only temporary family planning methods and encourage them to take part in our plan. Our method is safe and administered after proper counseling of the patient in order to avoid health challenges for the woman and ensure the right plan for the individual.
“We make sure the family planning method suits the hormones of the individual because when the plan is wrongfully implemented, there can be implications such as long term bleeding.”
In a remark, Kaduna State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Hafsat Baba acknowledged the good works of Marie Stopes in the state and stated her willingness to work with the state Ministry of Health, and the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency in mobilizing and sensitising women for uptake of family planning in the state.
“I am an active member of Family Health Advocates in Nigeria Initiative (FHANI) and will work together to make sure Kaduna state reaches the national target of getting as many women to subscribe to family planning.
“FHANI has made major contributions in the lives of women and worked hand in hand with the State Government’s in family planning services to mobilise sensitise as many women as possible.”
“Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai has special interest in the health of women in the state,” she said.
FH+ project is a three-year project that started in 2014. The project was to strengthen the overall health system, build providers’ capacity to deliver quality Long Acting Reversible contraceptive(LARC) and empower users to access quality and voluntary Family Planning services.
