WPD: Gynaecologists advocate free family planning for Nigerian women

On Jul 12, 2023

As Nigeria today joins the global community to mark the 2023 World Population Day, renowned maternal health experts have tasked the federal and state governments to provide free antenatal care, delivery, postpartum care and family planning for women in the country to improve their well-being and reduce maternal mortality. The 2023 commemoration has as its theme, ‘Unleashing the Power of Gender Equality, Uplifting the Voices of Women and Girls to Unlock Our World’s Infinite Possibilities’.

They noted in particular that the government must invest in family planning if Nigeria is to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.

The maternal health experts, who spoke with newsmen in commemoration of the WPD, also called for increased investment in the health, education and well-being of women and girls, affirming that such investment was critical for national development.

The leading health experts said that the current rate of population growth in the country calls for concern and stressed the need to increase the uptake of family planning services.

While stating that family planning has the capacity to reduce Nigeria’s high maternal mortality rate, the gynaecologists pointed out that the country’s modern contraceptive prevalence rate, which is at 12 per cent, requires concerted efforts to increase it to 27 per cent in line with the Nigeria Family Planning 2030 agenda.

Established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989, World Population Day is an annual event observed on July 11 to raise awareness of global population issues.

The World Population Dashboard showcases global population data, including fertility rate, gender parity in school enrollment, information on sexual and reproductive health, among others

A renowned Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology with over 40 years of experience in healthcare delivery and development work, Oladapo Ladipo, said that the federal and state governments should have the political will to invest in family planning.

The fertility expert, who is a Co-founder of the Association for Reproductive and Family Health, said except the government invests in health, education and family planning, Nigeria will not be able to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

He said: “Now we have the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, and if we do not accelerate our efforts to increase the use of family planning, which we know is safe and effective and helps to moderate our population growth, we will not achieve any of the SDGs by 2030. Maternal death is still very high in Nigeria despite the safe motherhood programmes that have been initiated over the years. It’s a shame that we are still having three digits, roughly 512 per 100,000 deliveries, which is very shameful in 2023. Yet, family planning can help us to reduce that within a short period. This is why every woman must plan a family. The days when you will receive a cow for having 10 children are gone. The current administration should ensure they appropriate enough resources to achieve them. It is doable at least, some of them are doable. What is important is the government’s commitment at the sub-national level,” he added.

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs report stated that Nigeria’s population had reached 216 million in 2022 while indicating that the global population had reached an estimated 8 billion.

The maternal health expert added that it was regrettable that the country still depends on donors to fund family planning services despite its huge resources, stressing that women are not supposed to pay for family planning.

He said: “Women don’t have to pay for family planning. It’s like immunization; it is a preventive medicine. For women who go through the process of pregnancy, labour and delivery, the least the country can do for them is to provide the next generation with free contraceptive services and free maternity services,”

On the way forward, Prof. Ladipo recommended that the Federal and state governments should chip in money to ensure that they provide free antenatal care, free delivery, free postpartum care and free family planning.

Wumi/punch