The Family Planning Coordinator, Osun Ministry of Health, Mrs Ololade Abatan says more women are taking up family planning methods in the state.
Abatan said that due to the present economic situation in the country, more women were now embracing family planning facilities in the state with little mobilisation from the ministry.
The expert disclosed this at a 3-day training on media advocacy for family planning in Osogbo.
The training was organised by Development Communication Network, a media-development capacity non-profit organisation, in support of The Challenge Initiative (TCI), also a non-profit organisation.
According to Abatan, the current economic situation is now pushing the message to women without much counselling.
“Considering the situation of the economy, more women are now flowing into the facilities to take up family planning methods with little effort from the ministry.
“We need little effort to push women to come for family planning now, unlike before that we have to mobilise, encourage, educate and counsel them before they come.
“They are now coming out of their shell to pick up family planning methods. The situation of the economy is already pushing the message of family planning to women in the state,” she said.
She, however, urged men to support their wives to take up child spacing methods, adding that it would not in any way make wives to be promiscuous.
“The orientation that men have is that women become promiscuous after taking up family planning.
“This is not correct and we have been educating our men that the method is not a license for their wives to be promiscuous.
“Rather it is to allow for peace, understanding, and collaboration between husband and wife.
“Family planning is about effective management of the home and we are appealing to our men to support their wives,” she said.
In his remarks, media engagement trainer for development communication, Mr Mayowa Adeniran said that the objective of the training was to strengthen the capacity of journalists in the area of effective reportage of the subject in the state.
Adeniran said that the training was to equip journalists in the state to be champions and advocates of child birth spacing.
“TCI has been doing a project in Osun for three years now, and there is a need for media advocacy.
“And that is why we are doing this media training for selected local and national media to increase visibility and effective reportage of in the state,” he said.
Also, TCI research, monitoring, and evaluation technical support lead, Mr Olatunde Raimi in his presentation said that the state expressed interest in the organisation in November 2021.
Raimi said that since then, TCI has supported 40 facilities within 10 local government areas in the state on advocacy for its uptake .
“It is a demand driven process which led to the state qualifying for the grant to support the programme,” he said.
NAN
