The Deep K. Tyagi (DKT) Foundation Nigeria has donated N10 million worth of long-acting reversible contraceptives to the Oyo State Ministry of Health, with a promise of further boosting family planning service uptake through its trained 20 community mobilised across the state.
Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, speaking at its handling, said the donation will support Oyo State in reversing the drop in the state’s modern contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) from 22 percent to 19 percent.
“We have been having challenges with family planning commodities in recent times, and that has really dropped our CPR from 22 percent to 19 percent because of the lack of availability of these commodities. So you are really coming at the right time to support us in this crisis,” she said.
Dr Ajetunmobi, speaking through the state’s reproductive health coordinator, Mrs Folasade Oladele, stressed the importance of child spacing and family planning to promote the health of the mother and to build a good future for their children.
She, urged family planning providers to help promote the benefits of child spacing, have a right attitude when attending to clients, and discourage women patronising quacks for their family planning services.
Executive Secretary, Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr Muideen Olatunji, said the donation will reduce unmet needs for family planning services even as the state makes efforts to procure more in its bid to prevent infant and maternal mortality and give meaningful life to women of childbearing age.
Dr Olatunji declared that the state government is not asking individuals to limit the number of children they would have but rather plan the number of children they will actually have to ensure that families have a fulfilled life.
“Nobody is saying you should not have a number of children you actually want, but make sure you give them adequate spacing, and consider the life of that woman and the number of children that you can take care of and have a fulfilling life.
“Family planning is one of the ways to reduce one of the causes of maternal death in our society. The fatality attached to pregnancies can occur when the pregnancy becomes too often, too frequent, too close, or too early. It will jeopardise the life of such a mother.
“So family planning not only prevents pregnancy, but it adds to the quality of life for the nursing mother and even the children that those mothers will be able to rear.
“And you know, the budget for health can never be enough for now. We don’t have up to 10% across the country. So any additional support that we can get will be added to the basket of our investment in health.
“So, it is going to go a long way in closing the gap of need for commodity supply in rendering family planning services.”
Director Pharmaceutical Services, Oyo State Ministry of Health, Mr. Mose Adewole, also urged proper storage of the contraceptives till it gets to its end user at the right place, time, condition, and cost where applicable.
Mrs Sarah Odeniran, Hospital Service Clinic Services Manager for DKT Nigeria, said that the donation of the 10,000 units of long-acting contraceptive devices has been supported with training of 40 nurses and midwives at the PHC level, 3 months of monitoring of health facilities to access the level of assimilation of the training, and 20 community mobilisers in a bid to ensure reduction of maternal mortality in the state.
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