Ogun State Government, in collaboration with the Society for Family Health (SFH), has called on women of reproductive age to adopt the usage of Family Planning to avoid unintended pregnancies and support child spacing.

The call was made in a Bi-annual review meeting of the’Delivering Innovation In Self-Care’ (DISC 2.0) Project of the Society for Family Health, with health secretaries, reproductive health officers, health education officers, and monitoring and evaluation officers in Abeokuta, on Wednesday.

Speaking at the meeting, the Executive Secretary of the Ogun State Primary Health Care Development Board, Dr. Elijah Ogunsola, said the state government had ensured procurement of deliverables consecutively in the last 2 years in order to avoid stock out of Family Planning commodities in the state.

Ogunsola disclosed that measures were being put in place for postpartum care by giving mothers commodities of choice after delivery, in order to improve on women health care, assuring that the State government would continue to do the needful to combat maternal mortality rate.

He said, “Ogun State has been commended by partners and the Federal Ministry of Health because the governor has, in two consecutive years, procured family planning commodity to implement what the federal government has been bringing.

“This is to ensure that mothers after deliveries are given the family planning commodities of their choice, either is IUCD or the injected one. All of this to make sure that maternal mortality is reduced through the use of family planning services in the state”.

In his goodwill message, the Business and Strategic Information Manager for DISC 2.0 Project, Society for Family Health, Mr. Fidelis Edet, appreciated the efforts of the State Government in leading the pace through empowering women to take care of their reproductive health needs with self-injection.
He noted that the modern contraceptives prevalence rate (MCPR) was low at 15 percent, hence the need to advocate, adopt, and sustain the use of contraceptives for healthy child spacing options.

Edet stated that the goals of DISC 2.0 project in Ogun State were aimed at achieving an improved Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) outcomes through the expansion of self-care solutions, and integrating them as an essential part of resilient health system.

Reacting, a representative of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs. Stella Adebayo, commended the state for taking family planning services as part of its responsibilities by ensuring adequate supplies of deliverables, urging service providers and other stakeholders to ensure proper enlightenment among women of reproductive age on the benefits of the services.