Awka – To effectively address the challenge of rising cases of women dying due to unplanned pregnancy, the media must lead the conversation to change the negative societal beliefs about family planning.
This formed the crux of discussions at a media roundtable on family planning in Anambra State, held in Awka on Wednesday.
The event organised by The Challenge Initiative, TCI, is part of several engagements, aimed at engendering a robust relationship with media outlets in the state, to address the observed poor uptake of family planning methods in the state.
Participants at the round table who were media practitioners drawn from select media outlets in the state, who at the meeting developed communication messages to further enlighten stakeholders on the essence of family planning.
The Programme Coordinator for the TCI in Anambra State, Mr Aneotah Egbe said the session became important to mobilize the inputs of the practitioners towards breaking down the message of family planning so that women of reproductive age can understand and adopt them.
He explained that the media practitioners were chosen because of the strategic role they play in shaping opinions.
“We chose journalists for this engagement because on a daily basis, they are in field doing one report or the other about this topic. Through this session, we want them to develop short messages which can communicate family planning to the average woman in the communities. Overall what we want is a situation where the negative stereotypes that mitigate uptake of family planning are demystified and the people are able to take up these services as they should,” he said
Egbe observed that a survey conducted by the Agency shows that a significant number of maternal mortality cases were as a result of the inability of mothers to plan and control their births.
“Many women die during and after childbirth because of unplanned pregnancies. The complications that come with unplanned pregnancies are too numerous. These days, you see many children who are motherless because their mothers died during or after childbirth. That is why we are advocating for family planning so that families can make informed choices about their wellbeing,” he said.
The TCI Demand Generation Officer, Onyedikachi Ewe, highlighted some of the factors driving the poor uptake of family planning in the state, noting that a change in the people’s perception of family planning will improve the present situation.
“In Anambra, we identified ideational factors including myths and misconceptions, personal advocacy, religious beliefs, poor communication of family planning among spouses, denial of benefits of family planning by persons who have taken up FP services as affecting the uptake of such services. That is why we are concerned about partnering with the media to achieve this,” Ewe said.
Some journalists at the meeting including Monic Okechukwu of Kpakpando 101.9FM, Mbaukwu, Kenechukwu Ofomah of Wazobia FM, Onitsha and Ogemdi Ozoemenam of Odenigbo FM, Obosi, expressed their readiness to drive the process to spread the message on family planning.
