THE Federal Government says it is ready to scale up modern contraceptives to ensure the provision of quality family planning and birth spacing services in a bid to tame the impending population explosion in Nigeria.
The Minister of State for Health, Senator Adeleke Olorumibe Mamora, speaking at the National Family Planning Media Campaign Launch of the Rotary Action Group for Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health (RMCH) in Abuja, said doing this in partnership with development partners will also help stem unintended pregnancies and prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS.
Mamora declared that the ministry would also introduce the Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate Subcutaneous Injection (DMPA-SC), which allows for self-injection in hard-to-reach places as part of the scaling up of new family planning commodities to expand Nigeria’s Method Mix to allow for free choice.
He stated: “The Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate Subcutaneous Injection (DMPA-SC) has been formulated to allow for self-injection. This is considered a game-changer in Nigeria’s Family Planning Landscape. It is indeed very useful for ensuring continuation of subsequent doses in hard-to-reach areas as clients could be given some vials to take home after some training on its use.”
The Minister stated that family planning is an important intervention for promoting proper timing and spacing of pregnancies, adding, “It also promotes maternal and child survival with a potential for reducing maternal and child mortality and morbidity by 30 per cent. In addition, a successful implementation is key to achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The Federal Ministry of Health is in the process of finalising the National Guidelines for State-Funded Procurement of Contraceptive Commodities to bridge the gaps in family planning financing. Efforts are in top gear to finalise the National Private Sector Engagement Strategic Plan to comprehensively involve the private sector in family planning implementation to rapidly increase uptake.”
He declared that Nigeria’s adopting of the task-shifting and task-sharing policy in 2014 to address the acute manpower challenges in the country will ensure that less qualified healthcare workers can undertake tasks, including the provision of some family planning services, thereby freeing the more qualified ones to attend to other more demanding tasks.
National coordinator of the Rotary Action Group for Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health (RMCH), Professor Emmanuel Lufadeju, in his welcome address, said that although 90 per cent of women know what family planning is, only 15 per cent are using modern contraception, just as he urged the media to support the move to achieve better, smaller manageable families in the country.
According to him, “This will help Nigeria to harness a Demographic Transition from its growing population. Effective family planning can reduce maternal morbidity and mortality resulting from childbirth and pregnancy complications substantially.”
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