The economic reality facing Nigerians and the enlightenment carried out by Adamawa State Government Primary Health Care, in collaboration with The Challenge Initiative (TCI ) supported by DavComs Network on media advocacy for Family Planning in Adamawa, has resulted in more men involved in family planning.
In a recent advocacy visit by some Journalists to five local government areas of Adamawa, which includes Song, Fofure, Yola North, Girei, and Damsa.
Statistics has shown that the mass media enlightenment campaigns embarked upon and the economic reality being faced, more men are now encouraging their women and their children to indulge in family planning to avoid any unprepared pregnancy and to properly space their children.
Investigation carried out by Tribune Online shows that more families now access family planning programmes in Gurin – a border town between Nigeria and Cameroon.
At the Primary Heath Care Centre (PHCC) in Gurin, most women who spoke with Tribune Online said their husbands made it a must for them to access family planning methods suitable for them.
Hajara Sambo, a mother of two said shortly after her husband took me to this health facility and sought advice on how we can have our children’s space.
She said, “l was not happy initially, but with the awareness we have gotten and the present economic situation we are faced with, l thank God we took this decision.
Mrs Sambo, who looks very healthy, said her first child and the second have a year difference, and she is not in a hurry to have the third one.
Though there are not enough commodities to sustain the demand, Mallam Nasiru Adamu and a few other men who spoke to this medium said they buy the commodities outside when not available in the health facility in Gurin.
The child campaign spacing has helped to reduce the mortality rate not only in Gurin and Fufore but also in neighboring villages in Cameroon women also attend free counseling on family planning (FP).
Corroborating the outcome of the investigation, the officer in charge of Gurin PHCC, Mrs. Deborah Papka Wuclah, said the facility attends to over fifty women accessing family planning on a daily basis, adding that they choose the family planning method that suits their system.
“It’s their husbands that encourage them to imbibe in FP; some of them bring their wives themselves.
“It will also surprise you to know that the men also come for the male commodity (condom) and even when not available, they request for the female condom just to have a control birth rate,” she further noted.
One of the mobilisers from the area, Aisha Abubakar, said for the past two years, more men have been encouraging their wives to embrace family planning.
“It was not difficult to create awareness because whenever I take the awareness to, the people trickle the message down, particularly to those that were not around, and I get calls to please come back.
“I want to believe that enlightenment embarked upon by the health care providers and the economic reality of today has made both men and women embrace family planning.”
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