Chioma Umeha
Family planning allows people to attain their
desired number of children and determine the spacing of pregnancies. It is
achieved through use of contraceptive methods and the treatment of infertility.
Promotion of family planning – and ensuring access
to preferred contraceptive methods for women and couples – is essential to
securing the well-being and autonomy of women, while supporting the health and
development of communities. Yet, millions worldwide still do not have access to
the contraceptive services that they need and want.
Making family planning commodities as well as
consumables available and easily accessible also increases its uptake.
However, barriers such as non-availability of
consumables such as syringe, cotton wool, hand gloves or a cost attached to
these consumables often pose serious challenge in the acceptance of family
planning among women of reproductive ages of 15 and 49.
A recent visit by DAILY INDEPENDENT to Ikorodu
Local Government Area (LGA), Lagos State during an advocacy activity organised
by Family Planning Media Advocacy Working Group in collaboration with Public
Health Sustainability Advocacy Initiative PHSAI) shows that there is a huge gap
in the supply of family planning consumables in the area.
Mr. Bashiru Raheem, the secretary, Community
Development Committee, CDC Ikorodu West, told DAILY INDEPENDENT during a
dialogue with some community leaders at Ikorodu that there is irregular supply
of family planning consumables in the area.
Raheem said; “As at now, we don’t have
consumables. But efforts are being made to make them available.”
Raheem, who is an active advocate of family
planning, said that he carries out advocacy in the community to educate women
and men about the importance to the family as well as the country at large.
Mrs. Mojisola Akande, a community leader from
Gbeshi Primary Healthcare Centre, Ikorodu was worried about some challenges
faced in the community. Akande said; “We don’t have enough staff in the PHC.
All the various types of family planning commodities and consumables are not
always available”
But, she said, “We make our complaint during
stakeholders meeting through the health educator in General hospital Ikorodu
and supplies are made.”
Akande added that some family planning users do
complain on preferred method, stating that, “some women complain that when they
use the coil, they do bleed and some say that, when they use the injectables,
they have irregular menstruation.
“We always counsel them that these different
methods depend on one’s body type. We advise for a change of method if previous
one is not compatible with their body.
“These women, see us, the community leaders and
family planning advocates as examples. We live in the same community with them
and they see how we give birth to our children, we don’t have too many children
unlike them that give birth every year. They admire us and we, the leaders
encourage them to use family planning.”
In response to the issues of consumables, the
Health Educator, Ikorodu local government area, Mrs. Jakande Lawal, said
whenever there are no consumables, a report is written to the appropriate
quarters and a supply is made, stressing that clients do not pay or buy
consumables.
Citing an example, Lawal said, “Let’s take Itelewa
Primary Healthcare Centre as an example. Whenever, there is any shortage of
consumables, we write a report to the Medical Officer of Health, MOH, and it is
being channeled to the appropriate quarters.”
As part of her duty, the health educator said is
to carry out health activities in the community, including having a
stakeholders meeting concerning any health issue as well as educating,
sensitising people on the importance of healthy living.
Also commenting,
Mrs. Sulaiman Iyabode, the family planning manager, Ikorodu, said; “In
November 2018, when I took over this position, there were stock out of implants
family planning method and information was passed to the family unit
coordinator in the Lagos State Ministry of Health and an emergency supply of
Implants was made.
“Twice, we have had stock out of implants and
supplies made but the supply was not enough.
We were given 50 in the first time and 60, the
second time; it was not enough as it was exhausted immediately.”
However, the Family Planning Manager said, there
has been an improvement in the usage of contraception, but lament that more
could have been done if not for the stock out of implants.
She also said, more women in Ikorodu prefers the
implants as awareness for the method is high, stating that, “though we counsel
them on their preferred method but if there were no Implants, some of the women
opt for the injectables.”
On scarcity of consumables, Iyabode revealed that
the supplies made by the state Ministry of Health is usually not enough, “if we
have to do implants for like 30 to 40 clients in a month, the consumables
provided cannot be enough, so whenever the consumables finishes, we inform the
MOH for more supplies.”
Also, to achieve the 27 per cent national CPR
target, state governments also gave themselves target.
Lagos state therefore projects to contribute its
quota to achieving the global target of family planning by year 2020, despite
its teeming population occasioned by influx more people on a daily basis.
In view of contributing to the national
Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) target, Lagos state made a commitment to
increasing its CPR to 74 percent by 2020.
As 2020 fast approaches, it is obvious that family
planning is assuming fresh acceptance by some women in Lagos state, despite
unmet demands due to lack of consumables.
