The Chairman of the Association for the Advancement of Family Planning, Dr Ejike Orji, has charged Christian and Muslim women to adopt modern family planning methods.
Orji explained that the use of modern contraceptives was the only way for Christian and Muslim women to effectively plan their families.
Orji spoke during a roundtable discussion ahead of the 7th Nigeria Family Planning Conference with the theme: “Journey to 2030: The Opportunities Ahead.”
According to Orji: “Christians and Muslims should accept modern methods because that is the only sure way to ensure they meet their family planning needs.
“If they go by billing and action methods, they would have a lot of failures. As a matter of fact, years ago, I did my studies with the society of gynaecology of Nigeria on people who usually have unwanted pregnancies.
“The religious group that is preaching against family planning had 45 percent of all the volume of unwanted pregnancies in this country. That means that the billings and natural methods are not working.
“If you truly want to refuse the size of your family and spacing of your family, the modern contra option is the best way.
“There are some areas in the country where we call the hard-to-reach areas that women may not be able to have access to healthcare services, and that is why we are urging the government at the sub-national level to solve this issue.”
Orji noted that the State and local governments should be blamed for the issues associated with family planning in Nigeria.
He reiterated the Federal Government’s resolve to improve the modern contraceptive methods in Nigeria to 27 percent by 2030.
Orji added: “When it comes to the issue of family planning, people put all the blame on the Federal Government when they are actually supposed to provide the commodities, provide directions in terms of policies, and help the sub-nationals to train the service providers. But in terms of real service provision, it’s the responsibility of the states and local governments.
“The Federal Government under the Minister of Health, in February this year, signed a 2030 commitment saying by 2030 we will improve our family planning and modern contraceptive level to 27 percent. Part of the journey is to commit one percent of our national health budget to family planning commodities and services.”
