Only twenty two medical doctors are currently serving in the primary health care facilities across the 33 local government areas in Oyo State, a survey by two non-governmental organizations championing the improvement of women and children on family planning/child spacing, has revealed.
The report, which shows that each of the 22 local government areas in the state has a medical doctor each, also indicates that 11 LGAs, especially those in the rural areas such as Ona-Ara and Kajola do not have doctors in their respective primary health care centres.
The report also shows that while all the council areas have more than one primary health care facilities, only LGAs in urban and semi-urban areas such as Ibadan North, Ibadan South-West and Akinyele have a doctor each.
The survey conducted and supervised by Development Communications Network and Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative further reveals that while there are shortage of doctors and other health personnel, including nurses and midwives in Oyo, council areas in other states such as Lagos and Ondo have more than 2 doctors each.
It added that the least number of doctors in Lagos council areas is two, while most of them have four doctors.
While presenting the outcome of the report during a two-day training on Family Planning /Child Spacing tagged, “Effective Family Planning Coverage in Nigeria”, DevComs Programme Officer, Abiodun Owo, lamented that Nigeria’s population continues to increase rapidly without commensurate development in health care service delivery.
She said, “With a current estimated population of 186 million and an annual growth rate of about 2.5%, Nigeria’s huge population, fuelled by high birth rate without good family planning, can be a huge burden with resultant poor health indices such as high maternal and infant deaths.
“Nigeria’s maternal and child deaths is one of the highest in the world.”
Owo said the training was an avenue to be an eye opener for the participants to be equipped with necessary skills to wake up and discharge their responsibilities in relation to the health of women, children and the less-privileged in the country.
The programme officer, however, appealed to Oyo and other states to employ more doctors, nurses and midwives and other medical and health personnel with a view of improving health care delivery, especially for women and children, to reduce maternal and infant mortality in the country, putting Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate (MMR) at – 576/100,000 (10th highest in the world).
The DevComs spokesperson, while lamenting the 15.1 contraceptive rate in the country, also decried the 5.5 Total Facility Rate (TFR) in the country and 4.5 TFR in the state, compared to the present socio-economic situation in the country, which is biting hard on the citizens.
She put Nigeria’s Reproductive Health Indices thus, “High MMR – 576/100,000 (10th highest in the world); High fertility – 5.5; Low coverage of health services (ANC – 61%; delivery with skilled attendant – 38%); Low mCPR -10%; high unmet need -16%.
“Only 15% of Nigerian married women use a contraceptive method, 10% of currently married women report using a modern method.”
Owo then charged women across the country to embrace family planning/child spacing in view of improving their lives and their families in general.
She charged the state government to embrace the comprehensive health care programmes of states like Ondo (Abiyamo Project) which is used to prioritise the health of women, especially pregnant women in the state.
Chairman, Sustainable Family Planning Providers’ Association, Dr. Monday Famakin, while speaking on ‘Policy environment for Family Planning in Nigeria’ maintained that family planning services remained free in all government health facilities.
Famakin, however, called on governments at all levels to provide the needed materials for the smooth running of the programmes since most of the funds to champion the programme were being provided by donors.
He said, “Most of the states do not have policies on ground while some are yet to pass the bill that would serve as oil in greasing the campaign and implementation of family planning in their respective states.”
Famakin, therefore, charged the media to maintain its civic responsibility of development journalism.
Mrs. Elizabeth Ojo-Jenyo, who spoke on “Understanding Family Planning: Types of Family Planning Methods,” explained that family planning campaign was not to discourage child bearing but to allow families space their children and give birth to children they can cater for.
She said, “Family planning is the decision taken by the individual or couple on the number of children to have and when to have them in order to be able to cater for the family needs.
“A primary health strategy with important benefits for both maternal and child health.
Speaking on the benefits of Family Planning, Ojo-Jenyo noted that, “Family planning helps to avoid pregnancies at too early an age, at very short intervals, at too old an age. Family Planning helps to avoid too many pregnancies, thereby preventing death of mothers (maternal death).
“Effective FP program can help reduce maternal mortality by close to 4o%.”
She identified lack of access, myths and misconceptions, poor/lack of knowledge, providers’ bias, cost, gender and socio-cultural norms, medical barriers, inappropriate criteria set by service providers as obstacles to effective family planning services in the country.
Oyo State Team Leader for NURHI, Mrs. Stella Akinso, recalled that despite this huge advantages, funding for family planning services was inadequate and had been falling for decades.
She said, “Policy makers need to learn from the mistakes of the MDGs and to increase funding for family planning and sexual and reproductive health services.”
Akinso used the opportunity to call on stakeholders in the state and the country at large to support organizations championing the campaign.
