By William Attah On Apr 14, 2023
A coalition of media practitioners in Gombe State with an interest in family planning issues has unanimously agreed that the participation of more men in accessing services and involvement in activities of child spacing is necessary for the best results.
The media working group during its first quarter meeting for 2023 has therefore resolved to focus more attention on the need for more participation of men in Child spacing procedures and activities.
Grace Saleh Mabudi, Acting Family Planning Coordinator, Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency (GSPHCDA), had earlier reported during the meeting that the uptake level on family planning services in the State is currently very high
She said: “There is an increase in demand for services as well as commodities for family planning by women in the State”. She, therefore, commended the media working group for the awareness creation adding that the increased patronage of the Family Planning services will in turn greatly improve maternal child health in the State.
However, during the discussion and discovering that women bear most of the burden associated with family planning procedures resulting in some physical side effects, most contributors in the meeting suggested a shift to the men folk since they too have their commodities and services.
In her submission, Rebecca Caleb Maina, chairman of the media working group, said apart from encouraging the men to access FP services, she encouraged the journalists to expand their reportage using the Gender lens for their childbirth spacing stories.
According to her, the gender lens story is one that considers the different needs and circumstances of all people within the target group and does not only focus on the women folk alone in child spacing reports.She said, “This involves interviewing the men, women, people with disabilities and relevant stakeholders such as Government officials, and traditional and religious leaders. These groups of people are key/ critical stakeholders in supporting the uptake of childbirth-spacing services.
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