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Lagos unveils plan to avert 8,000 maternal death by 2018

By Franka Osakwe
23 July 2017   |   3:58 pm
With about 4,730,000 women of reproductive age living in Lagos, and the nation's high maternal mortality, the state government has developed a 4-year family planning cost implementation plan (CIP) aimed at averting 103,000 infant death and save 8,000 maternal lives by 2018.

With about 4,730,000 women of reproductive age living in Lagos, and the nation’s high maternal mortality, the state government has developed a 4-year family planning cost implementation plan (CIP) aimed at averting 103,000 infant death and save 8,000 maternal lives by 2018.

Speaking during a 3-day workshop to appraise the CIP activities recently, Dr Saidat Okaga, Reproductive Health Coordinator, Lagos State, said the CIP was developed with a view to achieving an increased Contraceptive Prevalence Rate(CPR) of 74 per cent by 2018.

“The current Lagos CPR is 48% for married women but we want to increase this to 74% by 2018. By so doing, we will avert about 2.6 million unintended pregnancies. The CIP was developed to guide the state towards meeting the Lagos specific targets set within the national blueprint”, she said.

According to The Director, Family Health and Nutrition, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Folasade Oludara, family planning will reduce thousands of unsafe abortion which have caused complications and claimed lives of many young women.

“Every child deserves to be wanted which is why Lagos state government is making every effort to ensure that family planning services are free at the health facilities”, she said.

Stressing on the need to curb population explosion, she said; ” our social amenities are over stretched; we have electricity challenges, housing challenges. Which is why we are trying to sensitise the public on the need to be conscious of our population because our fertility rate is very high. Nigeria’s population comprise more of the youth and young adult. What that implies is that in the next 10 years, we must have doubled our population”.

According to her, people are still not aware that sexual relationship can result in unwanted pregnancies.

“Every sexually active woman from age 15 to 49 years has a family planning method waiting for them. Family planning does not cause cancer, even those that have cancer in their body or some health issues, there is a counselling service done before family planning method is initiated so that the health worker can know the method suitable for the client. A lot of people complain that the hormonal method makes them fat but this is a socio cultural factor that should not be allowed. FP contraceptives are safe to use”, she added.

According to the CIP, approximately US$91 million is needed to achieve the state family planning goal.

At the workshop, supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through the Palladium’s Technical Support Unit, the Lagos State Ministry of Health met with NURHI-2 team and other development partners to revise the state work plan and seized the opportunity to celebrate the World Population Day.

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