Health partners organise training for reproductive personnel in Kwara

On Aug 23, 2023

Development health partners have organised training for Family Planning Supervisors, and Monitoring and Evaluation officers from the 16 local government areas of Kwara State. The training is a two-day training programme on Data Strengthening Capacity Building held in Ilorin, on Tuesday.

The meeting is at the instance of Delivery Innovation in Self Care (DISC) project, with funding from Children Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).

Other implementing partners are the Society for Family Health (SFH) and Population Services International with support from the Federal Ministry of Health, The Challenge Initiative and MSI Reproductive Choices.

Speaking at the programme, Mr Michael Titus, the Social and Behaviour Communication Coordinator of SFH, explained that the DISC project is working with Kwara Ministry of Health to scale up quality self-care options starting with subcutaneous Depo-Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (DMPA-SC) self-injection.

He stated that there are different modern methods of family planning, including condoms, oral pills, injectables, implants and intra-uterine devices.

According to him, the duration of these methods varies from daily to two-monthly, three-monthly and three to five years.

“The DMPA-SC Self-Injection we’re talking about here is a three-month injectable. This enables the woman to take her family planning services into her own hands or do it by herself,” he said.

He explained that health providers train women on how to self-inject at least twice, where they are also provided with a take-home injection to last for another six to nine months.

Titus also pointed out that the DMPA-SC are available in pharmacies at affordable cost. He explained that women’s use can be more private and confidential as it can be in the bedroom, office and shops.

According to him, training men and women on self-care interventions increases the opportunity for the country to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

The SFH representative stated that the injectables are provided at government facilities majorly free, saying it is less than N1,000 at the pharmacy.

“Child spacing is a voluntary decision made by an individual or a couple on when to get pregnant, the number of many children to have, the intervals they want to have children, and it is by choice, and not by mistake,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr Toye Femi, the Assistant Chief Statistical Officer in the Federal Ministry of Health, encouraged the state government to sustain the health project which development partners had funded for about five years.

He said that this capacity-building programme is being carried out in 12 states, adding that it is being rounded off in Kwara, Akwa Ibom, Abia and Plateau states.

Hajia Bilikis Ibrahim, the state Family Planning Coordinator, said that the programme is part of various activities of the state government aimed at encouraging modern family planning methods among women in the state.

She said that the programme, which started in five local government areas, is being extended to 16 local government areas.

Ibrahim also said that the programme is aimed at promoting and empowering women in their reproductive health.

“The training programme would also improve the skill and knowledge of the health providers towards achieving quality healthcare delivery in the area of family planning,” she said.

Wumi/NAN