The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has ranked Kogi State as lowest in terms of contraceptive usage and adoption of family planning in the middle belt. USAID Dr Gabriel Alobo, USAID Team Leader, Maternal and Child Survival Programme (MCSP) in Kogi, disclosed this in Lokoja at the inauguration of “Kogi State 2018-2021 Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan and Green Dot Logo”. 

 

Baba Sala: Family announces burial date   Alobo said Kogi had the lowest contraceptive usage within the Middle Belt region with about 11 per cent for all methods and 8.5 for modern methods, compared with the national average of 15 percent for all methods and 10 percent for modern methods. 

 

The development he said made the agency come out with the “Costed Implementation Planning” aimed at moving the state from its current low level family planning usage of 11 to about 20 percent. Redefine yourselves, NGO tells female children   He put the estimated cost of the materials and logistics needed to achieve the aim t about N500 million, 

 

“We felt that we need to create demands by radio jingles and good advertisements to ensure that people come for family planning. We need to have more people participating in family planning; we need commodities in the facilities. The effect of this low level family planning is that more women and children are dying because more women are getting pregnant,” 

 

Wife of the State Governor, Mrs Rashida Bello, who flagged-off the programme, urged women in the state to embrace family planning, “Family planning remains a strong pillar of ‘Save Motherhood’, and allows people to have children by choice and not by chance.

 

By Boluwaji Obahopo 

Vanguard News