Adamawa State has recorded a 40 % surge within the variety of new acceptors of household planning strategies prior to now one 12 months, in accordance with The Problem Initiative (TCI), a non-governmental organisation targeted on reproductive well being.
The numerous progress is attributed to a coordinated marketing campaign led by TCI in partnership with the Adamawa State Authorities to increase entry to household planning providers.
The initiative has concerned the supply of consumables, elevated neighborhood engagement by way of neighborhood campaigns, and intensified efforts to fight stigma surrounding contraceptive use.
The figures have been disclosed by Godiya Yusuf, TCI’s State Programme supervisor, throughout a media roundtable on household planning held in Yola. The occasion, organised by TCI in collaboration with Growth Communications Community (DevComs), introduced collectively stakeholders from the well being sector, media, and conventional and spiritual establishments.
Yusuf famous that the partnership with the state authorities had yielded substantial progress since its inception.
“In 2022, the state recorded 47,980 new household planning acceptors and 19,024 customers of recent contraceptives. As of June 2024, that quantity rose to 104,486 new acceptors and 79,064 customers — representing a 40% and 78% improve respectively,” he mentioned.
He highlighted a number of key drivers of the marketing campaign’s success, together with the coaching of service suppliers, routine facility monitoring and supervision, and sustained neighborhood outreach.
In his remarks, Felix Tangwami, Adamawa State commissioner for Well being and Human Providers, represented by Zirra Bubanani, Everlasting Secretary, underscored the significance of household planning in enhancing maternal and little one well being outcomes and contributing to nationwide growth.
“Little one spacing is important for maternal well being. It permits girls to recuperate earlier than conceiving once more, lowering dangers of problems or loss of life,” Tangwami mentioned.
“We’ve seen girls give beginning to 10 or extra kids in speedy succession, which will increase maternal well being dangers. We encourage girls to embrace household planning,” he additional mentioned.
Aisha Garba, a Reproductive well being advocate, famous that advocacy and consciousness creation have been key to the undertaking’s influence. She emphasised the significance of sustained help from each authorities and growth companions in enhancing entry to providers.
“There are about 1.2 million girls of reproductive age in Adamawa. To this point, we have now recorded 149,000 new acceptors and 149,155 customers of recent contraceptives,” she mentioned.
Garba nonetheless, identified persistent challenges, significantly amongst rural girls who harbor misconceptions about household planning.
“Many consider that it limits what number of kids they’ll have. However household planning is about spacing births, not proscribing them,” she defined, including that “Being pregnant must be by alternative, not by probability.”
Additionally talking on the occasion, Tulhungu Uziel, the state’s reproductive well being focal individual, famous that ladies with pre-existing well being circumstances face the best dangers from unspaced pregnancies. She inspired girls to make the most of the 902 household planning service factors out there throughout the state.
“Our suppliers are skilled to coach and dispel myths, particularly the concern that contraceptives trigger infertility,” Uziel mentioned, including that “The purpose is to advertise more healthy households and cut back preventable maternal deaths.”
