Family planning: DevComs advocates youth friendly centres

Family planning: DevComs advocates youth friendly centres
By Mustapha Sumaila
Centres
Abuja, July 11, 2018 (NAN) The Development Communication Network (DevComs), an NGO, has advocated for the establishment of Youth Friendly Centres dedicated to providing sexual and reproductive health services in the country.
The DevComs Programme Director, Mr Akin Jimoh, made this call in a statement to commemorate the 2018 World Population Day (WPD) on Wednesday in Abuja.
The WPD is an annual event observed on July 11, which seeks to raise awareness of global population issues; the event was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989.
This year’s WPD has a theme “Family Planning is a Human Right”.
Jimoh explained that there was need for such centres that would meet young people at their point of need rather than resorting to practices that endanger their lives.
“These should operate based on elements of full, free, and informed choice with citizens having access to information on all methods of contraceptives.
“Both temporary and permanent and also have the right to make decision about what service to uptake without coercion and barriers.
“Women, youths and adolescents in Nigeria must be provided services that are accessible, available and acceptable to prevent unplanned pregnancies most of which ends in procurement of unsafe abortion.
“And that is one of the contributors to maternal deaths in the country,” he said.
The programme director explained that DevComs was committed to support the promotion and mainstreaming of information and service delivery on family planning as one of the key strategies to control the continuous population growth in Nigeria.
According to him, FP is a wise investment for national development though with a number of differentials in level of acceptance across the country, that needs to be further enhanced for the benefits of Nigerians.
“It is very important that government at all levels should ensure the availability of family planning commodities and consumables in order to advance access to a major means of addressing the country’s population debacle.
“Government should realise that without contraceptive products there will not be a programme to save the lives of women, children and others who needs it.
“Government should be accountable for ensuring that the supply contraceptives products and consumables are available at the point of needs for every prospective user” he added.
Jimoh said that stakeholders needed to collaborate in order to make up for the unmet needs among target groups which according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) was high among adolescents, migrants, urban slum dwellers, refugees and women in postpartum period.
He noted that health workers had a key role to play in making reproductive and sexual health service available to those who need it.
“From when an adolescent walk through the door of a clinic, to when he/she leaves, the services provided, good or bad, might shape the future of such individual,” he said.
DevComs is a global leader and one-stop shop in strategic communication, innovative programming for development information, advocacy, health promotion, community action for social change and sustainable human development. (NAN)
MS/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola