Family planning beneficiaries have commended The Challenge Initiative (TCI) for providing free and quality family planning services to residents of Orile Iganmu, Surulere, Lagos, to reduce maternal and child mortality and improve women’s health.
The beneficiaries spoke during a community outreach organized by TCI in collaboration with De-Evergreen Private Hospital, the service provider of family planning services.
While acknowledging how family planning has improved their health, the 101 beneficiaries shared that there has been an increase in the uptake of family planning services in the locality.
has provided free family planning service to
Mrs. Oloruntoye Bello, Health Consultant for The Challenge Initiative (TCI) who is also a retired Apex Nurse DNS at Gbagada general hospital Lagos State Health Service Commission emphasized the importance of family planning in women’s health.
“Family planning is very good; It promotes love, long life and it doesn’t mean you will not have the number of children you desire but spacing is very important,” she said.
Mrs. Bello Further added that “when we continue to embrace family planning, difficulty with child birth will reduce, and mothers would be able to plan their lives..”
In addressing the myths and misconceptions surrounding family planning, TCI Health Consultant said balance counseling is very key, “such that users are informed about all the family planning methods and the associated side effects.”
She also encouraged health workers to avoid limiting themselves when counselling, “let the client know the end from the beginning. With that, the issue of misconceptions will be reduced. Once you don’t hide any information from them, they will know how to disseminate the information to others.”
In the same vein, Mrs. Oniwide Elizabeth, Health Education officer, Coker Aguda LCDA, Surulere encouraged family planning users to stop feeding from the wrong source, “don’t rely on what others said about family planning, if you have any complain take a bold step down to the facility closer to you and you will be attended to,” she said.
Some of the subscribers, Mrs. Kuburat Lateef and Mrs. Sukurat Isa, shared how they delayed in registering for family planning because their spouses disapproved of it.
With the help of the hospital and TCI mobility team, a number of people turned up to access health for the first time and at about 2:14 pm residents still walking in into the hospital premises to take the method of their choice after a balance counseling.