In Nigeria, where the population is growing rapidly, family planning plays a vital role in reducing poverty, improving maternal and child health, as well as promoting economic development.
In spite of its importance, family planning remains a challenge in Nigeria, with many individuals and couples lacking access to reliable and affordable reproductive health services.
Health experts say the benefits of family planning are numerous.
They say it enables individuals and couples to plan their families; it can help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, lower maternal and infant mortality rates, and improve the overall health and well-being of families.
Family planning can also have a positive impact on education, economic stability, and environmental sustainability.
With Nigeria’s population projected to double by 2050, family planning is critical to ensuring that the country’s growing population is healthy, educated, and productive.
However, cultural and religious beliefs, lack of access to reproductive health services, and misinformation about family planning methods are some of the obstacles that need to be addressed.
In an effort to address the issue of family planning, The Pathfinder International Nigeria recently deepened journalists’ and influencers’ understanding of Family Planning (FP) and Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) priorities across Nigeria’s health systems and policies.
Mr Bayo Ewuola, Senior Media and Communications Officer, Pathfinder, spoke at a capacity-strengthening workshop for journalists and social media influencers.
He said that workshop was part of the Smart Advocacy for Strategic Action (SASA) project, implemented in collaboration with Partners in Population and Development Africa Regional Office (PPDARO) and Jhpiego Kenya.
Ewuola said the initiative aimed to empower media professionals to drive impactful narratives that informed the public, engaged communities, and held decision-makers accountable on key health commitments.
“The SASA project seeks to advance FP and MNCH outcomes through citizen-led advocacy focused on financing, budgeting, accountability, and improved collaboration across national and sub-national levels.”
He emphasised the media’s pivotal role in shaping public discourse, amplifying advocacy messages, and influencing policymakers to prioritise resources for women’s and children’s health and rights in Nigeria.
“Another goal is to enhance accountability journalism by equipping journalists with tools to track health budgets, monitor policy implementation, and spotlight service delivery challenges,” he said.
Ewuola said participants would leave the workshop familiar with core FP and MNCH terms, equipped to report issues specific to their states more effectively and strategically.
More so, Mr Chibuike Alagboso, Senior Programme Manager at Nigeria Health Watch, said solutions journalism relied on four pillars: response, outcome, evidence, and insight to guide impactful storytelling.
Alagboso explained that those pillars helped journalists to rigorously report on responses to social problems by focusing on who was doing what, how it was working, and what lessons were being learned.
On their part, the media practitioners pledged to educate the public on the importance of FP and MNCH to help reduce preventable deaths.
Mrs Longtong Yakubu of Leadership Newspaper, Kano, said the workshop gave her a deeper understanding of FP and MNCH.
“With this knowledge, I will write more stories on the issues and educate women I meet about the importance of family planning,” she said.
Ms Modupe Aduloju, another participant, said she planned to use investigative and solution-focused journalism to raise awareness and influence policy on family planning.
“By increasing access to FP services and education, families can make informed decisions, which leads to better health outcomes,” she said.
She described the workshop as eye-opening and thanked the organisers for the opportunity.
Mr Alhassan Abdulahi, another participant, highlighted the role of the media in shaping public discourse and influencing health-related policies.
“Tackling these issues requires collaboration between government, health providers, community stakeholders, and the media.
“I am now better equipped to advocate for effective FP and MNCH policies and share accurate, ethical, and impactful stories,” he said.
The participants expressed optimism that increased media engagement would strengthen public awareness and ultimately improve maternal and child health across Nigeria.
Mr Chibuike Utaka, Head, Marketing and Communications, MSI Nigeria Reproductive Choices, an NGO, said that they were committed to providing women and girls with choices that safeguard and meet their reproductive health needs.
He explained that as a leading provider of family planning and reproductive health services, the organisation directly operated six model medical centres and provide support to about 6,000 public health facilities across Nigeria.
“We also have 34 mobile outreach teams and more than 600 ‘Ms ladies’ often retired nurses and midwives, stationed in hard-to-reach villages to ensure women everywhere have access to reproductive health services,” he said.
He noted that health promotion and demand generation were at the core of MSI’s work, combining advocacy, community mobilisation, and media engagement.
Worthy of note, medical experts called on Nigerian men to embrace vasectomy and other safe and effective contraceptive options.
The experts said that such would help to promote Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and family planning, and protect against Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).
Dr Joseph Adewale, an obstetrician and gynecologist, who spoke on myths and misconceptions around contraceptives, stressed the need for male involvement in family planning.
Adewale said that men had left the responsibility of contraception to women for too long despite the availability of safe and simple procedures designed for them.
“There is a lot of myth, misconception and misinformation around contraceptives as well as other reproductive health services.
“Men have been shying away from this for a long time and pushing all the responsibility on women.
“However, male involvement is the new charge that we have.”
According to him, vasectomy offers men a reliable alternative to condoms and other methods of contraception.
“Vasectomy does not affect your sexuality, in fact, it increases libido and virility, allowing you to enjoy intimacy with your partner without the fear of unplanned pregnancies.”
He said that the procedure did not affect the male reproductive system but only prevented the release of sperm during ejaculation.
“It is painless, lasts about 15 to 20 minutes, and you are out of there; it is a very easy procedure,” he said.
Adewale encouraged more awareness and education on male contraceptive options, stressing that shared responsibility between men and women was key to effective family planning and population control.
Dr Kingsley Odogwu, an obstetrician and gynecologist, said that the event was aimed at creating more awareness, especially amongst young people, on adopting healthy lifestyle and SRH.
Odogwu said that the organisation would be conducting free screening and examination on STI, hepatitis, cervical cancer, and pregnancy planning, among others to promote the health of the public.
“We want to increase awareness, bringing to the fore the common problems that young girls and women, including men, face as relates their sexual and reproductive health.
”Some of these ailments can exist without you necessarily knowing and it is only through screening that you are able to get them,” he said.
He emphasised the need for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), vulnerable groups and other marginalised persons to have access to SRH services for their overall well-being, quality of life, and sustainable development.
Also, Mrs Esther Hindi, National Coordinator, Association of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (ASWHAN), emphasised the need for consistent SRH awareness, especially among young people.
She said that the sensitisation exercise would teach the public, especially youths, on protecting themselves against STI, unplanned pregnancies and adopting healthy lifestyle.
It is stakeholders’ submission that family planning is a crucial aspect of reproductive health that enables individuals and couples to make informed decisions about their reproductive lives.(NANFeatures)
