In a country where access to quality family planning (FP) services is not ensured, citizens will face and experience a number of social, economic and health-related challenges.
Absence of quality family planning, apart from exposing women to unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions and limiting their potential, affects the social, economic, physical and mental wellbeing of women and the entire family, widen the gap in gender inequality by limiting women‘s rights to education, their capacity to engage in income-generating activities, realize their potential and hampering the countries’ progress towards development.
It is clear that ensuring family program services to the country help in managing population growth, promoting women’s potential, empowering them socially, economically, politically as well as their physical and mental wellbeing and leading to positive community development.
Demographic reports of a number of countries confirm that countries, which are experiencing rapid population growth, could go through hard times owing to strained resources and infrastructure as well as increased demands for social services such as health, housing, education, energy and water transportation services, welfare and other similar privileges. Rapid population growth can contribute to environmental damage.
No one argues that exercising controlled population growth programs could play a vital role in preventing such challenges by ensuring that the available resources are utilized efficiently and effectively and promoting inclusive social, economic and political progress.
Experts in the health sector advocate that implementing family planning programs at the grassroots could contribute to social development by promoting gender equality and paving ways to empower women as well as improving maternal and child health that leads to building strong and resilient societies.
From this perspective, number countries are engaged in exercising the family planning services through allocating huge resources, supported by advanced technology and trained skilled human power.
The Ethiopia Herald approached Motuma Bekele, Productive Health, Family Planning, Adolescent and Youth Health Expert with the Ministry of Health to share his insights on how the nation is dealing with the provision of family planning service nationwide.
The Ministry, joining hands with development partners, is working committedly to access the services at the individual, family and at the broader societal level in accordance with their freewill and choice.
The Ministry provides advanced services and gives counseling towards creating informed society about family planning through developing communication strategy.
Awareness creation takes the epicenter because the program involves the conscious decision-making actions taken by individuals or couples to decide the number of children; and child spacing, that is reached on concrete understanding.
In a society where male dominance evolved and religious and cultural practices are high, the sole means to get out of the problem and address the ascribed challenges, implementing effective family planning awareness programs is instrumental.
According to him, family planning services are currently more available throughout the nation and these days, it has reached 72% coverage. “We are working to decrease the fertility rate that was 4.1 in 2019 to 3.2 in 2023. To this effect, we are working in collaboration with development partners for the reason the success would be realized with the cumulative efforts of various stakeholders.”
“In my view, the efforts to increase access to education in the urban and rural areas and applying effective family planning policy and strategy that promote the use of controlled family planning play a vital role to increase the coverage and shore up the performance.”
He underlined that achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services, including family planning by 2030, is considered as one pillar activity to enhance the efficiency of the policies and programs.
He said that it is high time to balance between the working-age population and the dependent population in a bid to foster a demographic dividend and ensure economic development.
FP service is one the rights of women; and the Ministry is working to ensure the right to each because it has a significant contribution in preventing unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortions to reduce maternal mortality.
According to him, applying FP is instrumental in reducing the rates of mothers’ death because of pregnancy and birth related complications and reports, including, the Ethiopia Demography Health Service (EDHS) confirms that the nation has reduced maternal deaths significantly.
He said that implementing productive family planning services could help mothers not to have too many children. If women learn to give birth in space, with more than two years between pregnancies, they could reduce child and mother deaths by 50 percent.
It is clear that access to family planning empowers women by giving them control over their reproductive choices. This empowerment is linked to increased educational and economic opportunities for women, contributing to gender equality. Not only that, family planning also lets families plan their financial expenditure more effectively. With fewer dependents and better-spaced children, families may have more resources available for education, housing, and other essential needs.
Despite some challenges related to skilled human power and resources, the Ministry is exerting efforts to supply easily accessible and affordable FP services to the community such as providing contraceptives, counseling, and educational resources and services with the aim to let individuals and couples make informed choices about their reproductive health nationwide.
Commending the government’s effort because the nation has reached above seventy percent coverage, he said that if pertinent stakeholders keep on working in more organized fashion than before, the nation could provide FP service to all in a short period of time.
Since FP has a number of returns to the community in managing their family size that means it can contribute significantly to poverty reduction, efforts should be strengthened in providing quality services to the communities in the hinterlands in a more organized fashion.
Early marriage is still practiced in various parts of the nation and even these days several girls are exposed to forced marriage at their early age. Thus, stakeholders should act committedly to curb the challenge joining with pertinent stakeholders and the law enforcement bodies.
If the strategy is implemented effectively, it could lead to positive outcomes for both individuals and the broader society. Each awareness creation effort should be involved in tailoring educational materials and outreach efforts to address specific religious and cultural considerations in mind.
Ensuring successful FP services require a multi-faceted approach that involves education, accessibility, policy support, and community engagement in coordinated fashion.
The Ethiopian health sector adopted a national guideline for family planning Services with the purpose to strengthen the level of FP integration with Primary Health Care (PHC) services. The Ministry of Health (MoH) also developed a Family planning service integration national guideline, which provides direction for initiating, supporting, and sustaining FP integration and demonstrates the government’s commitment to scaling up high-impact practices, such as integrated FP services.
BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 18 JANUARY 2024
