By; MATTHEW UKACHUNWA, Lagos
Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, wife of Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has called on women to embrace family planning.
She said that the socio-economic benefits of family planning leads to female empowerment and economic enhancement.
Sanwo-Olu stated this at an event organized to commemorate year 2021 World Contraception Day in Lagos.
A news release issued by the authority of the state’s Ministry of Health on 5th October 2021 pointed out that Sanwo-Olu said that there was no better time than now to put family planning on the front burner.
She added that family planning ensures a woman has adequate time to achieve her career goals.
The governor’s wife said that she was at the event in solidarity with the women who contribute meaningfully daily to the economic growth of Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole.
According to her, family planning is an informed decision by an individual or a couple on how many children to have and when to have them. She added that the practice involves the use of modern contraceptive methods to adequately space pregnancies.
She said: “Family planning prevents birth-related complications for both mother and child and has the long-term benefits of empowering women and reducing poverty.
“Families that have the number of children they can afford to train are able to devote more resources to providing them with adequate food, education, clothing, shelter and other necessities.
“There is no gainsaying that family planning enables women to pursue their educational and career aspirations, acquire more wealth, and in the long run, contribute to socio-economic development of their immediate communities”.
Harping on the significance of family, Dr Sanwo-Olu said when women space their births effectively, they can recover from the previous birth, take care of themselves and the living child and bond with their children and spouses.
She explained that the growing population in our state and nation has its attendant challenges such as increased rate of unemployment, high rate of poverty, growth of slums, poor access to sanitation, poor health, lack of or poor education and increased crime rates.
“One effective tool for tackling these problems is for families to have the number of children they can cater for.
“Despite the benefits of family planning, it is disheartening to know that for many women, the right to decide when or whether to have children is being hindered by lack of access to safe and modern methods of contraceptives.
“For example, although contraceptive methods are provided free in public health facilities, user fees for consumables such as syringes and gloves have been found to be a barrier to family planning uptake”, the Wife of the Governor stated.
She noted that many women in Lagos State who want to delay or avoid pregnancy are currently not using any form of modern contraception, adding that the government’s goal is to reach these women, their partners and many other women who are yet to understand the need for and benefits of family planning.
Dr Sanwo-Olu insisted that the socio-economic benefits of family planning cannot be overemphasized, as it leads to female empowerment and economic enhancement. It ensures a woman has adequate time to achieve her career goals.
The subject of the event was titled:”A New Lagos, Family Planning, a Catalytic Pillar for Female Empowerment and Socio-economic Development.”
