From Beauty John, Lafia
The Emir of Awe LGA of Nasarawa state, HRH Alhaji Isa Abubakar Umar II has debunked the misconception that child birth spacing is a mechanism deployed to control and limit the population of some states in the country.
The first class Emir reiterated this when members of the Media Action for Family Planning paid him hommage during an advocacy visit in Awe LGA, Monday.
The monarch, baffled by the misconceptions about child birth spacing stressed the need for relevant stakeholders to educate and enlighten the people about its numerous benefits to the woman , child and even the father.
“Many times people use religion as an excuse and they say you are trying to stop them from giving birth, you are trying to reduce their population, which is absolutely false. However, the only way they will know that it’s not true is when you educate them.
“No one is saying they shouldn’t have children but what we are concerned with is the health of the mother, child and even the father.
The monarch, whom commended Nasarawa Primary Health Care Development Agency( NAPHDA), The Challenge Initiative (TCI) and Development Communications Network (DEVCOM) for sponsoring the advocacy,said the district heads and other community leaders present in his palace would take the advocacy to their people at the grassroots.
In her remark, the Officer In Charge (OIC) of Primary Health Care Centre (PHC) old Awe town, Mrs Ammagai O Arigu said the facility has utilized every opportunity to sensitize the public on the benefits of child birth spacing.
“We use to go for home to home visit and outreach services, so in our outreach services, we use to counsel them and tell them the importance of child birth spacing to the women and also to the men.
“Sometimes when we have immunization or nutrition classes in days like this, then we gather women and health-educate them on child birth spacing and how their husbands will see them and be happy with them because when they are bearing children without spacing, even the husband can run away from them because they will look older than their age,” the OIC said.
Mrs Arigu, whom decried the attitude of some men towards child birth spacing encouraged them to support their women to opt for the services as it will lessen their burden and responsibilities in their households.
According to her, the facility is fully stocked with male andfemale condoms, Jadelle, noristerat,depo-provera and other commodities as she called on women of child bearing ages and men to patronize the facility.
One of the residents of old Awe town and also a beneficiary of child birth spacing, Mrs Mercy Jonathan, a mother of two said her husband was initially against it.
“When I mentioned the idea of child birth spacing to my husband, people discouraged him but I insisted and he had to accept it,” she said.
According to her, her husband is now impressed with the service as she now has the time to take care of him, their healthy children and herself as well.
