Media, CSOs urged to create more awareness on child birthing space, FP

Media practitioners in the country have been called to as a matter of necessity keep creating awareness on the need for mothers and caregivers to imbibe the culture of Child Birth Spacing (CBS) to promote quality family health.

The call was made by the Bauchi State government, through the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (SPHCDA) during the occasion to mark the year 2019 World Contraception Day with the theme: ‘Your Life, Your Responsibility’ held at Hazibal Hotel Annex, Yelwa road, Bauchi.

While briefing newsmen as part of activities marking the day, Executive Chairman of the SPHCDA, Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed said that celebration of such days are set aside to focus on areas where there are gaps in the Family Planning or Child Birth Spacing services in the state with a view to finding avenues to address such gaps with the aim of reducing infant mortality and morbidly rate.

Rilwanu Muhammed further said that gone are the days when people viewed Family Planning (FP) or Child Birth Spacing (CBS) as a sensitive subject anchored on religious beliefs pointing out that, “we now even have Clergies from both faiths as champions in the propagation of FP/CBS to the society, what a positive development”.

He added that though there is a positive departure from how society viewed family planning or childbirth spacing, there is still the need to keep creating awareness and sensitising the general public on the need for adopting childbirth spacing and to also seek medical services from health facilities especially for pregnant women and nursing mothers.

The Executive Chairman also used the forum to thank ‘The Challenge Initiative’ (TCI), a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded project in Bauchi State for their intervention in reproduction health (with emphasis on family planning) saying that, “TCI had really made family planning services attractive through their 74 hours makeover initiative. They have also given technical assistance, through training to service providers, which had enhanced performance at the health facilities”.

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Also Speaking, the State Family Planning Coordinator, Hajara Yahaya said that Bauchi State indices in the Area of FP, according to the National Demographic Health Survey, is still not encouraging.

She said that “ Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) according to the NDHS 2018 has improved to 6.2 as against the 2.1 recorded in 2013. We are moving but at a snail speed. I am very optimistic that with the support we are getting from the state government, we would eventually reach an appreciable level of CPR”.

In a goodwill message, the Program Manager of The Challenge Initiative (TCI), Mrs Rabi Ekele, commended journalists in the state for their positive reportage on FP / CBS and urged them to do more in that direction.