Media Tour: NURHI revisits Family Planning facilities to monitor performance

some consumables donated by NURHI for Family Planning
Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) renovated and commissioned Family Planning clinics in selected LGA in Lagos. In line with this, it is expected that there would be an improvement in maternal health care services delivery in these centres. Hence the media tour to Primary Health Centre at Ajeabo, Mushin and that of Palm Avenue in that same Mushin LGA on Thursday 20th, September. CYRIACUS NNAJI reports.

The media tour to NURHI2 72hrs make-over clinics in Mushin suburb has also shown the efforts by the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI2) to ensure family planning is embraced by everyone. The two PHCs was renovated in August 2017 by a 72-hours make-over activity by the group. This is a three days renovation of family planning units in Primary health centres, and it’s usually done from Friday to Sunday. Some of the renovation done includes; replacing the old chairs, tables, equipment, beds and other tools used for family planning services as well as painting the unit to give it a face lift. This was done by NURHI 2 to encourage women to come for family planning services.

In Ajeabo PHC, Akinkuowo Feyi Bridget, the Nursing Officer in Charge of family planning unit said, before the intervention of NURHI 2, there clients were 60 women and below in a month but after the intervention in a month they recorded 176 clients and still counting. She added that NURHI 2 provides them with family planning consumables monthly. Furthermore, for clients coming for the first time to get family planning service, they counsel them and tell them the methods that best suits them before giving them the method. She showed DevComs team some of the family planning methods that were available like the female and male condom, Implants, Injectable, IUCD, beads- which is a natural method.

When asked about the challenges they face she said  family planning unit challenge is a general one which is lack of manpower, she said this is not the work of NURHI 2 but government should endeavor to bring in more hands to work as clients are increasing to make it a lot easier, she also stated that the only issue they have with clients are those who uses implant for the first time, that when they come back they give a lot of complain which are always looked into and also explaining to them that it’s a foreign object that is coming to the body so it will need a change in the body system for it to balance or adapt to the new object in the body.

Akinkuowo also highlighted some benefits of family planning as it helps to prevent unplanned pregnancy, it gives long life and good health. The community mobilisers also play an important role by creating awareness during their outreaches on the benefits of family planning.

A family planning user, Fausiat Balogun from Ajeabo PHC who gave another positive account of how family planning has been beneficial to her, she mentioned that she’s on implanon and has no side effect since she started using it although she got scared when she wanted to go for it but with the positive comments of Implanon users she met at the fp clinic on arrival gave her confidence. The only thing she notice is that she hasn’t seen her menstruation as she is still breastfeeding her baby and if after she stops breastfeeding her period doesn’t come she’ll go back to ask questions from the health care provider.

Moving down to Palm Avenue PHC, the story just got interesting as every of their consumables are free unlike before where they’ll tell the women to get some things like Jik, Dettol, gloves and other things before the family planning service is being rendered, these were the words of the Senior Nursing Officer in charge of family planning, Ihavbare Omotayo. She said NURHI 2 provides every of the methods every month and if they exhaust it before the following month, they’ll call them and it will be supplied as soon as possible.

She added that men walk in to the facility to request for condoms and also approve of their wives to use family planning method. Also speaking, a family planning user who goes by the name Adebowale Adesewa a 35 year old trader whom we met at the PHC said she came for a renewal of implanon. She further said it was good for her and she doesn’t have any problem with it as she mentioned that family planning will help to reduce unnecessary abortion or unwanted pregnancy.