A cross-section of women in Jigawa State have appealed to the government and non-governmental organizations to provide free contraceptives to promote child spacing.
The women, who spoke with Radio Nigeria at Kudai and Kachi Primary Healthcare Centres in Dutse during the commemoration of Safe Motherhood Day, expressed concerns over the unavailability of contraceptives.
A mother of three, Malama Karimatu Sani, said that whenever she goes to buy contraceptives, she is given expired products, which could be harmful to women’s reproductive health.
“Most times I have to wait for the hospital to obtain new stocks, I pray not to get pregnant before the hospital receives safe and free commodities,” she said.
Another mother, Malama Maryam Abubakar, explained that she spent significant amount of money on transport to the hospital to check if contraceptives were available.
She lamented that purchasing contraceptives from pharmacies outside the hospitals was too costly which makes it hard for women to afford.
“Some of them refuse to sell the products and instead ask you to come and obtain the services from them, while at the hospital we get both the products and services for free,” she said.
On behalf of women in the state, she appealed to the government and donor agencies, to come to their aid because many people are adopting Family Planning as a solution to many societal vices.
Meanwhile, a service provider at the Kachi Primary Healthcare Centre, Amina Sulaiman, confirmed that the hospital had ran out of stock for the past two months.
“We feel bad when women react upon hearing that we are out of stock during our clinical days as they usually come desperately in need of the services.
“Sometimes, even the husbands get angry and remind us that the government has announced free services and commodities.
Mrs Sulaiman, however, appealed to concerned authorities to provide free commodities, to alleviate the economic burden on women.
Just last year, the Jigawa State government inaugurated a twenty three-member Technical Committee on safe motherhood, tasked with reviving safe . motherhood practices in the state.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Malam Bala Ibrahim, while inaugurating the committee in his office, stated that the committee’s terms of reference include reviewing the implementation of the Safe Motherhood Initiative and developing an implementation framework for strengthening nutrition and counseling for caregivers.
Others include undertaking situational analysis of the Safe Motherhood initiative and developing ways to strengthen referrals and linkages between communities and health facilities.
While inaugurating the committee, the Secretary to the State Government, Malam Bala Ibrahim explained that the safe motherhood initiative programme was first introduced in 2006 by a DFID development support programme.
He said the most significant feature of the initiative demand was the Emergency Transport Scheme with a fleet of ‘Haihuwa Lafiya’ vehicles for transporting pregnant women with obstructed labour to the nearest competent health facilities for emergency care.
Our correspondent reports that many rural men and women in Jigawa state have embraced Family Planning and Safe Motherhood initiatives and are utilising them for their health and economic benefits.
Usman Mohammed Zaria
