(Daily Graphic, Oct 25, 2011, Page 11)
PUBLIC
health authorities in the Northern Region have doubled their efforts to reach
out to men on the need to accept the practice of family planning in order to
manage their families effectively.
Statistics available estimate that the
practice of Family Planning in the region was 26 per cent in 2008, 28.8 per
cent in 2009 and 24.3 per cent in 2010.
These statistics, according to the
health authorities, are uninspiring and reiterate the need to strengthen public
health campaigns in the various communities so as to deepen the understanding,
acceptance and practice of family planning.
The health authorities also noted that
it is crucial to get more men to accept the concept of family planning, because
it is the refusal of the men, who are decision makers, which was contributing
to this lack of progress.
In line with this, the Northern Regional
Health Directorate organised a durbar on family planning in Dalun in the
Tolon/Kumbungu district to sensitise the inhabitants of the area, particularly
the men folk, on the importance of family planning.
The durbar formed part of the region’s
celebration of the annual ‘Contraceptive Week’, which is used to raise
awareness about the types, uses and importance of contraceptives.
A Deputy Director of Nursing Services
(DDNS) in charge of Public Health, Madam Margaret Nmini implored the men to get
involved by accessing information on family planning and help their partners to
make better choices.
She said family planning would help a
man to manage his family because he would be able to decide when he is
economically and psychologically prepared to have another child.
Madam Margaret said statistics collated
by the public health unit indicated that in 2008, a total of 5,764 men in the
region had accepted and were practicing family planning, whiles in 2009, the
figure rose to 10,717 men.
“In 2010, we recorded a decline in the
number, from over 10,000 to a little over 8,500, which is an indication that
less number of men had accepted and were practicing family planning in that
year. We are working towards increasing the number by the end of this year,”
she stated.
The public health nurse deplored the low
funding for family planning activities, noting that in spite of its numerous
health and socio-economic benefits, family planning had been relegated.
She said the availability of reliable
contraceptives to persons, irrespective of location or income status, was a
vital step to boosting the practice of family planning.
According to the Director of Health
Services for the Tolon/Kumbungu district, Hajia Awabu Sophia Mahama, her area
was selected for the durbar because of the low numbers of families that were
practicing family planning.
“It is clear that we need to do more
sensitisation and outreach to ensure that the message gets down well to the
people,” she stated.
Hajia Awabu mentioned that one of the
reasons why many communities continued to reject family planning was due to the
misconception about family planning.
She said many of the local people
understood family planning to mean reducing the number of births.
“Certainly, many of the people would not
comprehend why they should be asked not to have many children as they desired,
especially when they grew up in large families.
“Rather, we need to be telling them that
family planning means spacing the frequency of births so as to ensure that you
have more control over your family’s size and also improve the health of the
children and that of their mothers,” she noted.
Some of the men in Dalun told the Daily Graphic that they needed more
education to understand family planning before deciding to opt for it.
“I cannot allow my wife to practice
something I know little about and it is new to us. We know having many children
can bring problems, but we value them,” remarked Afa Issah, a middle-aged man
who has already given birth to four.
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