By Cyriacus Nnaji
The Challenge Initiative (TCI) known for rapidly and sustainably scaling up proven reproductive health solutions among the urban poor, in partnership with the Lagos State Government, has sensitized Isheri Osun Community in Alimosho Local Government of Lagos State on the need to plan their families.
The sensitization which was an in-reach programme was a process whereby mobilisers go to the community and then bring people to the facility. With support from TCI the pregnant women and mothers were given some consumables, injectables, and implants depending on their choices of family planning methods.
According to the organsers, the in-reach/sensitization programme was also part of the Lagos State Health Week which took place between Monday 6th and Friday 10th November, 2023.
The health week involved the implementation of the Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health plus Nutrition (MNCAH+N) in all the 20 local government areas (LGAs) and 37 local council development areas (LCDAs) in Lagos State.
Part of the objectives of the week was to improve the health seeking behaviour of Lagosians towards ensuring the improvement of Health indices in the State. Also, the Week was to sensitize the public on life-saving healthcare services available at all the state public health facilities for improved uptakes during and after the MNCAH+N Week.
During the week, all under-5 children, pregnant women, nursing mothers and young adults have access to free healthcare services, which include preventive services such as Routine Immunization, Family Planning, Vitamin A Supplementation, Malnutrition screening, Birth Registration, free Antenatal care, HIV & Tuberculosis Screening and Treatment; among others, courtesy of the Lagos State Government.
Recall that the First Lady of Lagos State, Dr Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, already flagged off the week-long event in Badagry LGA.
At Isheri Osun, pregnant women and mothers, gathered in the community and were not just educated on the need for family planning, they were also allowed to choose any of the family planning methods suitable for them including but not limited to consumables, injectables and implants.
Sandra Ikpade, one of the Community Mobilizers for The Challenge Initiative (TCI) in Isheri Osun, stated that the family planning outreach program was for women and TCI happened to be the sponsors. “It is an event where all women take their family planning method. TCI brought the consumables, all we need for this program, you can see that everybody is here taking their methods. We have various methods, the injectables, implant, we have those for two months, three months and we have levo plant, it is an implant and that is for three years.”
Sandra also spoke on the response rate, saying it is encouraging. “So far so good, the response is good. We have 10, you know why it appears that they are not many is that before you take the method, we check for their BP and if it is high it doesn’t go with family planning, so we allow them to calm down before we administer the method on them.”
A community Influencer who wished to speak on condition of anonymity said that the community were being sensitized on the importance of family planning “In this particular community we are having a family planning outreach where we are sensitising the community members on family planning, importance of family planning for them to plan their families, because everybody knows what is going on in the country now, to be able to give birth to children you can take care of; the mothers will also live healthy while our fathers will also have more money in their pockets to take care of our expenses.”
He thanked TCI for the laudable programme. “We want to thank TCI for supporting Family Planning programme. They are supporting the mobilizers who go into the various communities, house to house, door to door, talk to the people. Actually many people have heard about family planning, some have taken up methods of family planning while some are still doubting either to take or not, but with the mobilizers going from house to house I hope they would be able to gain the courage to come forward to take up method that would be suitable to them.”
The Community influencer said the family planning programme in Lagos is a continuous exercise and the women can go to any health centre any time they like. ‘Some of them, having given them the card, they are still coming, any time, it is a continuous exercise.”
Chinyere Ozakpolo, a business woman and a satisfied user of family planning, she spoke on the benefits of family planning to her. “It helps to control child birth so that you don’t go and over born. I have three children, I gave them two years each but it was deliberate.”
Speaking on side effects, she said there is none, “I am using the implant method for three years. I just put it few months ago; I have actually not seen any side effects. What I discovered is that it plays with your monthly period, sometimes you see it, sometimes you don’t see it. The first month I put the implant I didn’t see my period, I saw it once, ever since I have not seen it again. That is the only effect on me, it could be the reaction. But not seeing my period is not a sign of pregnancy, not at all.”
While Ozakpolo disclosed that the implant method does not elicit any pain, she thanked Government and TCI for making family planning free and also advised Government and its partners to do more in the area of sensitization. “They should make it more open, explain it and be able to disabuse people’s mind of these misconceptions they have about family planning, most mothers don’t know about it, so they should bring more information about the family planning so that families that do not know about it will begin to know, and many are scared. But based on what I have heard they said somehow some women who did it would develop one sickness or the other, but I have not seen. So such sensitisation would help to put the family planning in the right perspective.”
Mrs Ainoh, said she has natural family planning. “I am not using family planning for certain reasons because my own body reacts somehow, my first child is eight years before I could conceive this one; that is why I don’t want to use it. Even that first one it took me about a year after marriage, so after that one, eight years interval, you can see my body is already doing family planning on its own, it is family planning from God.”
Another mother who simply gave her name as Precious said the reason she is not using family planning is because she is scared and she has natural family planning too. “When I gave birth to my child I have my own natural planning, so there is no need again for me to take family planning because I am already doing natural family planning, not seeing my period and all that, so I don’t think I have the need.”
Speaking on what made her family planning natural she said, “My first child was a year and four months old before I took in for the second one. If I do it I will get so much fat. There are some you would take it would trigger reaction, especially injections. They said it reacts in the body, so I decided not to take it for me not to start having reactions.”
Precious commended Government and TCI saying “Government and TCI said we should do family planning because of people who are careless in terms of having sex with their husbands for them not to get pregnant while still breastfeeding, so that is why family planning is important. Some don’t know how to calculate their period, but if you do it when you are ready for another baby you go and remove it. For me I can handle it. I also have natural family planning because I don’t see my period if I am breastfeeding.”
Eguife Gloria said “I just don’t like it, I have two children, my first child was almost three years before the second one. I calculate my period by myself; I use Billings method. Even when my husband wants to meet me at wrong time he would use condom or withdrawal method mostly, so I don’t pray to use it anytime.”
