FPLagos Media Roundtable: Stakeholders optimistic of improved family planning uptake in Lagos State

The need for family planning uptake in Lagos State has become so imperative that as the year 2024 is coming to an end, organisations are also making frantic efforts to crosscheck their activities for improved contraception access in order to plan for the future. No wonder, FPLagos Media Advocacy Forum, a group for dissemination of information about family planning initiatives in the state organized a Roundtable in a bid to review its engagements over the years.

The event which was sponsored by The Challenge Initiative (TCI) had in attendance, representatives of the Ministry of Health, TCI, Development Communications Network, Interfaith group, IPHAL, among other organisations, and was held at the Youth Empowerment Foundation, Akerele in Surulere Lagos on December 11, 2024.

From contributions by participants it was evidently clear that there is optimism that Lagos State will soon emerge in first class category for Family Planning uptake if the current tempo in sensitisation and campaign were sustained.

Present at the roundtable was TCI with its unusual business approach in family planning demand generation advocacy which aims to promote a sustained and local ownership while demonstrating the feasibility of long term investment in reproductive health; the initiative  supports Nigeria in scaling up the positive changes in reproductive health delivered through the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI since 2009 managed by the Johns Hopkins Centre for Communication Programmes (CCP). TCI has played crucial role in family Planning sensitization in Lagos State, with their unrivalled innovation financing strategy.

For TCI, as an organization, maintained that their goal is to continue with the intensification stage by ensuring that the number of those seeking family planning uptake in the state does not drop, rather to see that it continues to increase, adding that anything short of intensification would be antithetical to the milestone it has covered over the years, it said that the idea is to have a sustainable contraception usage in the state. It also disclosed that the group will continue to support visits to ministries, stakeholders in terms of documentation, or any other worthy cause that will help to drive number of uptake in the state. They would also be helping in the efforts to clear myths, misinformation and misconceptions in order to keep the number growing as the focus is the number.

On the whole, there is hope for Lagos State as TCI makes last minute efforts to ensure that Lagos emerges in first class category of states with high family planning uptake. There was also concurrence on the need for male involvement in the advocacy for family uptake.

On the other hand, Interfaith Public Health Advocacy Lagos (IPHAL) a faith based organization set up by NURHI 2 in 2016, with the objective derived from the appreciation of the roles religious leaders of both sides of the divide, Muslims and Christians, could play in enhancing and promoting acceptance and use of FP among their followers. The aim was to inform, disabuse, demystify prejudices often haboured by the congregation against FB.

Representing IPHAL, the Chairperson, Dr (Mrs) Ashiru Ajoke, in her submission disclosed the efforts of her group has made in ensuring family planning uptake in Lagos State. According to her the interfaith Lagos State first of all did the mapping of all the religious houses in Lagos, churches and mosques and making sure they visited many of them. She stated that such assignment was not funny as different religious houses keep springing up across the state on daily basis. She acknowledged the role played by the Chief Imam of Lagos State and the Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Lagos they gave them records of all the religious houses in Lagos and that made their work easier, saying that till date IPHAL has been using their guide to do their advocacy.

Dr Ajoke also disclosed thet IPHAL undertakes advocacy visits every month and also have meetings every last Tuesday of the month to review what happened in the field and if there is any problem to try as much as possible to tackle them. She said “The group was trained by NURHI to know exactly what they are supposed to do, we go to the religious houses, we tell them what they should know about family planning and they in turn, cascade whatever we have told them to members of the church and mosques. Besides when they have special programmes they also invite us to come and speak to their members. We have the data of all these activities.”

Ajoke disclosesd that IPHAL has paid visits to several bodies and organisations in a bid to advance family planning consciousness among Lagosians. Those visited include Ministry of Health, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Women Affair, and visit to the First Lady, who assured them of assistance to direct them to appropriate offices for assistance.

On the question of exclusion of the youth and adolescent in some churches as far as family planning is concerned, Ajoke said for the unmarried, they are usually advised to plan their lives first, get their education, plan their future. She added that a church like Catholic is not against family planning since they agree to use of billings method.

She also spoke about the recently concluded community engagement by IPHAL in four LGAs in Lagos State, she stressed that the impact could be seen in the acceptance, attendance and critical questions being asked by the attendees, which bothered on myths, misconception and misinformation. Beyond that they also expressed misgivings on near absent role by men in the struggle for family planning uptake in the state.

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Earlier, while welcoming the participants at the Roundtable, Eletu Suliyat, Communications Programme Manager, Development Communications Network, disclosed the essence of the meeting which was designed to gain insight into the current state of family planning in Lagos State and then highlight IPHAL efforts in community engagement on family planning. She added that FPLagos Media have been able to gather over 70 stories on family planning, and have been able to place at least 90 slots of jingles across three radio stations in Lagos State. “And we have also been able to promote family planning on social media, like in Instagram, TikTok, and Tweeter in promoting family planning.

“And we have been able to utilise the FP Friday, every last Friday of the month where we engage youths, young ones on the benefits of Family Planning, and the efforts of TCI in promoting family planning in Lagos State,” she stated.

Another angle to family planning uptake in Lagos that reared its head which must provoked further discussion in the area of family planning in Lagos was the issue of Traditional method of family planning. There was also the argument on how to inculcate the traditional family planning system into the family planning activities in Lagos as many persons of reproductive age appear to opt for the traditional system of herb, ring and so many others. They argued that since these persons have known the traditional system of family planning from time immemorial and it is working for them, the best thing was to make it work in pari passu with modern family planning procedure since the ultimate goal was to ensure high contraception use in the state.