With a 2% Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) recorded in the year 2018, Sokoto state has a low contraceptive usage rate and high fertility rate compared to other states in Nigeria. This is a result of family planning hesitancy among the people of the state which is still in play due to lingering socio-cultural and religious beliefs.
The contraceptive hesitancy continues because of the belief that giving birth to a large number of children would lead to keeping a tribe or ethnic group in existence and not letting it go extinct.
Family planning, often referred to as child spacing involves making informed decisions on when to have children, how many to have, and the use of contraceptives and other methods to prevent or delay pregnancies.
Cultural considerations in adopting family planning in Sokoto
Labaran Shuni, a community leader in Dange Shuni Local government is among those who share the opinion of giving birth to many children to maintain the existence of a tribe or ethnic group, “Where are Yandunas now? The ethnic sub-group can barely be traced. They are becoming history, and that can be attributed to ungrounded population,” he stated when ASHENEWS visited his community on an advocacy visit.
He pointed out that as a state with a multi-cultural dividend, giving birth to many children is welcomed by most people in various communities within Sokoto. “This is to maintain the number of a particular subgroup of the Hausa ethnic group, preserving their distinct cultural practices, language variation and social structure within the larger house community. This perspective emanated from the age-old cultural norms of the northern populace”, he noted.
ASHENEWS also observed that the practice of family planning in Sokoto state is being frowned upon by some of the community members across the state. Digging further, it was uncovered that some people regard the practice as a taboo, invented by the West as a set agenda to cripple the population growth of Africa.
It was also learnt that some members in Sokoto communities stick to traditional beliefs that advocate for child spacing or limiting family size. While still valuing the importance of family size, these families prioritized the well-being and the sizeable number of households through strategic child spacing practices.
Economically, some among the community members within Sokoto believe that a large number of families attract economic stability. to this group, if the families venture into agricultural activities, maximum productivity will be achieved, and other businesses bolstered as well.
Religious consideration
While the occupants of Sokoto state, the seat of the caliphate are known for their strict adherence to Islamic doctrines, the interpretation and application of religious teachings towards family planning vary among individuals in the state.
Mr. Sani Umar Jabbi, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Association of Advancement of Family Planning in Nigeria said that nine out of every 10 people in the state are very religious. He said the majority of them would not embark on any activity or project until they heard from their religious leaders. “That is why the religious leaders should be targeted as change agents”, he said.
Some residents who spoke to ASHENEWS confirmed that they abide by the religious teachings that emphasize procreation and view large families as a source of blessings and societal status. According to them, family planning conflicts with Islamic religious principles.
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“Leaning on Islamic religion enshrinement, family planning has nullified faith we are enjoined to have in Allah. This is after many negative effects the practice has on the people that adopted it,” an Islamic Cleric, Mrs Aishatu Abdulrahman said.
According to Abdulrahman, several reports on the negative incidents caused by the adoption of family planning have been related to her by her students on multiple occasions.
“The use of artificial instruments or commodities to manipulate nature will never be encouraged in Islam, not even matters relating to health. Anything God has forbidden; you will see that it harms our health. So, this concept is intertwined,” said Dalhat Abubakar, a Cleric in Gwiwa Community, Sokoto.
In the same vein, others seek religious guidance that aligns with the modern understanding of family planning, recognizing the importance of decent parenting and the well-being of both parents and children.
Policy in the state
Part of the policies enacted to improve the acceptability of family planning practices in the state include the Costed Implemented Plan (CIP). This is a federal government with a strategic roadmap designed to ensure the effective implementation of family planning across the country.
The CIP typically includes budget allocation, target setting, monitoring and evaluation framework and strategies for collaboration among various stakeholders including government agencies, NGOs and international partners.
However, the challenges remain, including limited government investment and reliance on external funding sources. Bridging the gap between policy formulation and implementation requires a concerted effort to address socio-cultural and religious barriers at the grassroots level.
The Reproductive Health Coordinator, of Sokoto State Ministry of Health, Mairo Rabiu-Sherif, frowned at the absence of an active policy on family planning in the state, ensuring that an active policy in the state will facilitate the access of FP services.
Access to family planning services
ASHENEWS visited the Gagi primary healthcare centre in Gagi community of Sokoto South local government where the family planning Service Provider, Dr Binta Aminu revealed that during the past three months, there has been a shortage of family planning commodities in the healthcare facility due to high demand by clients.
“Whenever there is a stockout, we refer them to other facilities where family planning services are available. Some prefer to get the commodities in a commercial store, bring it to us and then we render the services,” said Aminu
The Healthcare Provider disclosed that the facility often gets family planning commodities from the Planned Parenthood Federation during commodity shortfall. She called on the government and stakeholders to support them in achieving full-service accessibility as the facility records an increase in demand specifically every month.
Aminu expressed that the community members have confidence in the family planning services provided by the healthcare centre and have expressed their satisfaction with the services they receive.
Progress is also being made in generating demand and service delivery on family planning in the state, mostly by international partners.
However, with the practical realities of the high cost of living Nigeria’s citizens are grappling with, the CPR is expected to experience a significant rise across various communities in Sokoto state.
How advocacy is addressing hesitancy
Jabbi explained to ASHENEWS how the association pushes for the acceptance of the practice of family planning in the state and Nigeria at large.
“The way we promote family planning is through the community systematic engagement of traditional and religious leaders. We believe the more we sensitize them, the better the impact they make in bridging gaps between the government, the partners, the service providers and the community members.”
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Association of Advancement of Family Planning in Nigeria states that investing more into sensitization and publication of tailored messages and prayer sermons that focus on embracing family planning will go a long way to achieving maximum adoption of family planning practices.
According to him, the major challenges that facilitate contraceptive hesitancy in Sokoto state are myths and misconceptions within Sokoto communities.
“Even though it has a special recognition in Islam, people still misconstrue this fact. Islam recognizes child spacing which is regarded as ‘Azal’ (withdrawal during sex before ejaculation).
“So it is accepted in Islam, but the knowledge gap, the culture and also the misconception they always see things like family planning as an idea of the west against our culture and religion.”
Responding to the cultural belief found in some community members within Sokoto on why the population cannot be reduced through family planning, Jabbi said, “What they don’t understand is this is no longer an imperial system where the population is used for mass production of farm produce. Now the population is redundant, government cannot provide jobs.
He emphasized the need for religious and traditional institutions to see the goodness of family planning, adding that doing so will stimulate more Nigerians to adopt the practice as they have a respected voice in society.
Jabbi then urged the government to be dedicated to funding family planning and make it a budgetary provision. He stated that family planning will serve as a catalyst to taming insecurity, economic and health implications and foster sustainable parenting.
