Repositioning Family Planning

By Eranga Isaac
Family planning allows individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired number of children and the spacing and timing of their births. It is achieved through use of contraceptive methods and the treatment of involuntary infertility. A woman’s ability to space and limit her pregnancies has a direct impact on her health and well-being as well as on the outcome of each pregnancy.

Every day, 1,600 women and more than 10,000 newborns die from preventable complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Almost 99% of these maternal and 90% of neonatal deaths occur in the developing countries. As the first pillar of safe motherhood and essential component of primary health care, family planning plays a major role in reducing maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality.
Family planning enhances efforts to improve family health. However, traditional beliefs, religious barriers and lack of male involvement have weakened family planning interventions. Research has confirmed high "unmet need" for family planning in sub-Saharan Africa in term of the number or percentage of married women who say they prefer avoid a pregnancy but are not using any method of contraception.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BraveHeart Initiative conducts SGBV case management training for Edo SGBV-focused CSOs

Image
Ms. Priscilla Usiobaifo In a bid towards enhancing the capacity and skills of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) case management, a two-day training program was organised for Edo SGBV-focused CSOs by the BraveHeart Initiative for Youth and Women (BHI), with support from the MacArthur Foundation. In her opening remark, the Executive Director of BHI- Ms. Priscilla Usiobaifo said out of the 1000 CSOs domicile in Edo state, only 50 are SGBV-focused. She said out of the 50, 14 were invited for the training. According to her, the training was meant to fill the training gap of the SGBV-focused organisations in SGBV case management. The Executive Director said prior to the SGBV case management training, BHI also organised a training for health sector providers in Akoko-Edo.  "The training was made up of technical sessions; documentation and data intelligence; discussions about work tools; distribution of job aids such as - power banks, electric boxes
Read more

Pathways for Peace: Case Studies of Women’s Leadership in Peace Processes

Image
This post originally appeared in Women Deliver website on https://womendeliver.org/2019/pathways-for-peace-case-studies-of-womens-leadership-in-peace-processes/ March 10, 2019   Emily Silk   Global Women's Leadership Initiative Pathways for Peace: Case Studies of Women’s Leadership in Peace Processes GENDER EQUALITY POLITICAL PARTICIPATION SHARE In 2000 the UN passed Security Council Resolution 1325, calling for the increased participation of women in peace processes. Despite this,  women made up  “only 2 percent of mediators, 8 percent of negotiators, and 5 percent of witnesses and signatories” worldwide between 1990 and 2017. Evidence suggests that “ when women and civil society  groups are invited and meaningfully participate in peace negotiations, the resulting agreement is 64% less likely to fail and 35% more likely to last at least fifteen years.” However, we need female leaders at all levels of the peace process, especially as negotiators, pea
Read more

Rethinking Family Planning

Image
Nigeria's Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, flanked by other high-level delegates at the NFPC 2018 opening ceremony.  Photo credit: Nigeria Health Watch Rethinking Family Planning: Takeaways from the 5th NFPC 2018 “If you fail to plan, plan to fail” – Benjamin Franklin Family planning allows communities to shape their futures and use resources effectively. This has spillover effects on the nation’s economy, productivity, and well-being. Today, a Nigerian woman has an average of 5.5  children in her lifetime compared with her counterpart in neighbouring Ghana who has four. This has vast implications for Nigeria, in terms of its population, but more critically in terms of its economic growth and development. The Nigeria Family Planning Conference 2018 (NFPC 2018) was convened to deliberate on the contextual nuances around family planning and chart roadmaps for more progress in Nigeria’s family planning agenda. The 5 th  edition of the conference took place between th
Read more