Dr Afam Obidike, Anambra State Commissioner for Health, on Thursday urged residents to adopt family planning and child spacing methods to reduce economic burden on the family.
Obidike made the call at a four-day training in Awka on Long-Acting Reversal Contraceptives (LARC), organised by DKT International in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
He said that family planning and child spacing are important in the society with the current economic hardships.
“Adoption of family planning and child spacing reduce economic burden on the parents, helps a woman heal properly before having another child and it aids effective management of the home.
“This training is to equip our health workers to teach and counsel women on the importance of family planning as well as the risks factors in all the family planning methods, so they can make the best choice.
“We appreciate DKT International for supporting the state with various family planning commodities. We will continue to partner with them to achieve family planning objectives,” he said.
The commissioner urged the participants to take the training serious and also teach other health workers in their various health facilities across the state.
In his address, Mr Rex Idemudia, a representative of DKT International, said that it was a non-governmental organisation, which focused on reproductive health such as family planning, child spacing and use of contraceptives.
Idemudia said that DKT’s mission was to ensure that family planning commodities got to the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.
“We develop these family planning commodities and teach people the various methods of family planning from injectibles to implants among others, to ensure a safe, effective and affordable family planning,” he said.
In her remarks, Mrs Amara Ezeokenwa, Coordinator, Anambra State Family Planning, said the residential training was for Reproductive Health Supervisors (RHS) from tertiary, secondary and primary healthcare centres across the state.
Ezeokenwa said that with adequate education and information about family planning and child spacing in the health facilities, maternal well-being would be improved in the state.
