Bauchi health chief urges couples to use family-planning services
Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Board chairman Rilwanu Mohammed says unplanned pregnancies are more common among married women than unmarried women in the state. During World Contraception Day activities, he urged couples to plan pregnancies and use family-planning services available at public health facilities.
Unplanned pregnancies are more common among married women than unmarried women in Bauchi State, according to the chairman of the state’s Primary Healthcare Board, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed. Mohammed made the statement on Saturday during a media briefing in Bauchi to mark World Contraception Day. He was represented at the event by the director of primary health, Dr Safiyan Jibrin.
The chairman said the observance was an opportunity to raise public awareness about contraception and family planning. He said observations from hospitals showed that unplanned pregnancies occurred frequently in marital homes, with some people subsequently seeking to terminate them. “It is important to know the realities and indices of what we are celebrating today,” Mohammed said.
He added that contraception enabled couples to plan pregnancies and urged them to discuss the timing and spacing of their children. Mohammed also said abortion was not legally permitted in Nigeria except in medically indicated circumstances, particularly where the mother’s life was at risk. He warned that procedures carried out in unsafe environments could lead to infections and other serious complications.
Residents were encouraged to seek family-planning and contraceptive services at primary healthcare centres and secondary facilities across the state. Mohammed said many of the services were free and located close to where people lived, but added that continued public sensitisation was needed because some residents were unaware of their availability. Pharmacist Nufin-Allah Alhamdul, representing the Society for Family Health, said the organisation was working with the state health board and other partners, including the United Nations Population Fund, MSI Nigeria and the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria.
Alhamdul said family planning allowed families to decide when to have children and determine the interval between births. He said child spacing could help mothers recover between pregnancies, while families could better manage resources and support children’s nutrition and education. He added that effective family planning could improve household wellbeing and help families manage their resources more sustainably.
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