By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan.
The Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) said family planning and child spacing methods and strategies is not in any way to encourage abortion.
NURHI Senior Program Officer, Advocacy and Demand Generation for Oyo State, Mr. Tunji Samuel stated this in Ibadan at a one-day training for religious leaders on methods, choices and benefits of family planning.
He stressed that NURHI with its aggressive campaign has since 2010 impacted positively on methods, strategies of family planning and its benefits on the women, men and the entire family and the nation in general.
“Now we are telling them that family planning is not a license to abortion neither is it for promiscuity. We discovered that very many men are accusing their wives that many of them are taking family planning for the purpose of promiscuity. We are telling them that family planning is not for abortion, it is not for promiscuity, so that is what we are telling them that family planning is for them to space their children and be able to cater for the number of the children they want to have and cater for” he said.
Mr Samuel declared that the program was organized to increase the level of family planning awareness and campaign among religious leaders in the state, saying, NURHI is presently working in Oyo, Kaduna and Lagos states as well as in Senegal, India and Kenya to promote healthy living among families through the promotion of family planning.
The NURHI Senior Program Officer, (Advocacy and Demand Generation) who insisted that “family planning services is free” warns prospective clients to always patronise the designated health facilities in case of any side effect.
“We are the organizers of the training for religious leaders, we want to build the capacity of religious leaders so that they will be able to preach about family planning to their congregation. We are telling them to preach to their followers on how to adopt family planning and the benefits attached to it”.
On the reasons for inviting religious leaders to the meeting,he said “religious leaders can address problems among couples directly, religious leaders can address gender issues”.
“We want religious leaders, community leaders and other stakeholders to help us and support family planning. Please, don’t preach against family planning anymore, we want a situation where women will be having safe delivery, we don’t want women to die prior, during and after pregnancy”.
