Four children a family policy due for shakeup

The Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH) recommends an existing four-children-a-family population policy be revisited to make it more rational. Speaking at the 4th national family planning conference in Abuja, president of ARFH, Dr Oladipo Ladapo said Nigeria had not implemented the policy"as a people" but was getting there. The policy has been held […]

The Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH) recommends an existing four-children-a-family population policy be revisited to make it more rational. Speaking at the 4th national family planning conference in Abuja, president of ARFH, Dr Oladipo Ladapo said Nigeria had not implemented the policy"as a people" but was getting there. The policy has been held back by legislation around it, a situation many stakeholders are against. "It needs to be revisited by government and we all sit together to do what is rational. I will not support legislation. Family planning should be free, by choice. Everyone has a right to get access to family planning," said Ladipo. The conference highlights link between moderating family sizes and freeing up income to be invested in other areas to boost development. But access and availability remain huge challenges, according to Dr Ejike Oji, chairman of Association for the Advancement of Family Planning (AAFP). Nigeria committed $3 million yearly counterpart funding to purchase family planning but has only redeemed one year since 2012 and other commitments are untouched, said Oji. He said the country could improve health spending if it intentionally made health a priority. He called family planning the "single bullet that if properly put in place in the country would stop the country yearly deaths of some 40,000 women." In the build-up to the conference stakeholders held interfaith dialogues and meetings with women and youth groups to bridge different understandings of how high impact life-saving commodities including family planning contribute to healthy mothers and babies. Alh Bello Jibril, sarkin yaki Sokoto and chair of AAFP board of trustees, involving faith leaders and allowing community express concerns fo address could change the journey of family planning in Nigeria. "Ten years back it was difficult to talk about anything family planning in the north of nigeria. But today, the demand and uptake of the services now is very interesting to see," he said.