•Task Media To Propagate Accurate Information
Chioma Umeha
There is increasing concern about how to reverse
the current low Contraceptive Prevalence rate (CPR) and curb growing maternal
deaths in the country.
Every day, 111 women die from pregnancy related
issues can be blamed on five major causes of maternal mortality, viz:
haemorrhage, hypertension, infection, abortion complications and obstructed labour.
Fortunately, experts have confirmed that
investment in family planning (FP) would reduce the rate of maternal deaths by
30 per cent.
Already, the Federal government has intensified
campaigns to increase uptake of family planning commodities and services with
the formulation of the new policy to increase the CPR from 15 per cent to 27
per cent by 2030.
In Lagos state, the goal is increase CPR to 74 per
cent by 2020.
However, some traditions, misconceptions among
other factors have continued militate against adequate Family Planning uptake,
especially on Modern Contraceptive Prevalent Rate (MCPR) in the state.
Recently, Dr. Jide Idris, the Commissioner for
Health, identified myths and misconceptions as part of the major barriers to
the uptake of FP services in the state.
Idris who spoke at a three-day workshop on Advance
Family Planning (AFP) Smart Media Advocacy by the Pathfinder International in
Lagos, Dr. Idris called for collaboration among all stakeholders from every
sector to improve FP services.
The workshop was geared towards acquainting
journalists on advocacy strategy to increase the uptake of Modern Contraceptive
Prevalent Rate (MCPR) in the state.
The Commissioner who was represented by the
Director, Family Health Unit, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Folashade
Oludara, listed some traditions and misconceptions militating against adequate
Family Planning uptake, especially MCPR in the state.
In some instance, Idris said, “Some people told
our FP team in one of their sensitisation programmes that family planning is
bad and as a woman, you need to bring out all the eggs God has given you by
birthing, else it would turn to cancer.”
“There are communities we go to in Lagos State
that vehemently refuse immunisation and life-saving commodities, saying it is
government’s ploy to make their children infertile and family planning is not
left out,” he explained.
He added that some benefits of FP include; child
spacing, high productivity of the mother, improved quality life of the children
as well as the family.
The commissioner further tasked the media to
ensure propagation of accurate information on Family Planning.
The
Lagos State Ministry of Health boss said, “Media needs to spread the
correct information at all times, and not confuse the people the more.”
He therefore charged the media to help change
these myths and misconceptions surrounding the usage of FP services in the
country in order to increase its uptake and safe women from dying from
preventable causes.
On her part,
Dr. Okaga Sidiat, Coordinator Family Planning, Lagos State Ministry of
Health, who was accompanied Dr. Oludara to the training announced that Lagos
would soon enter into some community health campaigns which media could help in
propagating.
Also, Dr. Okaga urged media practitioners to
always approach her office for confirmations and clarifications where
necessary.
This, she said would forestall any misinformation,
hence Pathfinder is trying to close this gap with this workshop.
She observed 60 per cent of health care services
in the State are delivered by the private health facilities, while 40 per cent
by the public health care services.
She added; “We recognise that we need to
strengthen the private health providers and what we did was to scale up FP
services in these facilities by benchmarking the amount been charged to their
clients.”
Also speaking, Dr. Habeeb Salami of Pathfinder
International said, “the contribution that family planning gives to reducing
Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is huge and that is the best investment any
government can give to reducing these deaths.
He said the strategic meeting is aimed at building
media advocacy that will yield results as well as building media capacity to
talk about health generally with focus on FP, stating that, “when the power of
the media is harnessed, Lagos state can achieve its plan on FP.
“In 2015 and 2016, when we had a media dialogue,
we noticed that there is a lot of information on FP that health journalists do
not have and building their knowledge base will help in dispelling these myths
and misconceptions.”
