‘Family planning is about healthier families, community’

Chairman, Oyo State House of Assembly, Committee on Health, Honourable Silas Okunlola, has said that ensuring that the passage of the Oyo State Family Planning, Reproductive Health and Maternal Services by the Oyo State House of Assembly is important to ensure healthier families and the community.

Honourable Okunlola, who made the disclosure when receiving representatives of the Oyo Family Planning and Reproductive Health Media Advocacy Group, said that the revisit to the six-year-old bill by the Oyo State House of Assembly was because of its underlining benefit.

According to him, “If we control the birth rate, manage our families, we will have healthier families and the community will be better off, and this will translate into having a stronger nation.”

ALSO READ: Ekiti bank robbery: Number of death rises to 3 as police close on bandits

He said that the initial delay in passing the bill was to ensure the buying in of all other lawmakers.

The bill, which had passed through a public reading to ensure all stakeholders make their contributions to its content, he stated, is now being harmonised  before it is presented to the floor of the house and passed into law.

Okunlola said that of the 77 bills before the 8th House of Assembly, Oyo State,  only three bills have been read and undergone a public hearing. These three bills are the Health Insurance Bill, Primary Health care Board Bill and the Reproductive Health and Family Planning Bill.

Okunlola, however, promised to ensure that the bill is passed into law before he leaves office.