Onitsha – The Officer-In-Charge of Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC), Onitsha, Mrs Virginia Chiezie has described Family Planning (FP) as key to having healthy children and effective resource control.
Mrs Chiezie said this on Saturday during an interaction with TNC correspondent in her office at the PHC in Onitsha, Anambra State.
She listed the benefits of family planning and advised couples to religiously imbibe the family planning tips to ensure good health for the unborn children and the mother, and for proper allocation of resources.
“Family Planning enables parents to plan for their unborn children based on their resources. It ensures that children get adequate nutrition, good education and good health. Spacing your child will enable the mother to have enough rest in between child birth,’’ she explained.
The officer applauded `The Challenge Initiative (TCI)’, a non- governmental organisation for renovating Christ Church Primary Healthcare Centre under 72 hours, stressing that the gesture made access to family planning services more comfortable for families.
Mrs Chiezie noted that the Centre is now wearing a new look, with its Family planning section well equipped with state-of-art facilities, including a Television set.
“All the activities were provided under 72 hours makeover by TIC.
“Before now, there were minimal access to family planning services because of ignorance of its benefit, but due to mass sensitization, people now come enmass to access FP services,” she revealed.
According to her, women in the area enjoy their marriages now and do not nurse any fears of getting unwanted pregnancies.
Mrs Chiezie thanked the Government for making available FP commodities in all the Primary Healthcare Centres of the state, adding that FP services were free of charge in Anambra State.
“The reduction in the number of women that die in pregnancy and childbirth-related complications is also due to proactive involvement of the state government in creating FP awareness,” she said.
Mrs Chiezie debunked the unfounded rumours making the rounds that Family planning makes a woman to add weight and may result in barrenness.
“Women are advised to shun `such dim-witted rumours’ because research had shown that family planning methods and services were safe,” she concluded.
The Challenge Initiative, TCI collaborates with Anambra state government to promote family planning activities in the state and train health workers on different methods of the planning, choices and their benefits.
