Women
Why Govt Needs Another Look At Family Planning
Thirty five years old
Jemina died recently while giving birth to her 8th child. Her husband, Sobomate, 42, a fisherman, could not bear the loss because, according to him, she was his favorite and the eldest amongst his three wives, all of whom were cohabiting with him in a fishing settlement.
As he lamented, in almost all his utterances, one sentence he kept repeating was “I told her not to get pregnant again, but she refused. She said she only feels my love when she is pregnant”.
He explained that he already has seven children with her, and that their first child, a girl, is 14, and that the 7th child by her just turned one.
Mr. Sobomate said he has eight other children with two other women (five by the second wife and three by the last wife). All of these children are less than 14 years.
From the explanations he gave, shortly after he impregnated his second wife, the late Jemina started complaining that the only time he treated her as a woman was when she was pregnant.
She therefore decided that she will continue to get pregnant as much as she can so he will not have the time “to look at other women”.
The result was that Jemina started getting pregnant almost yearly, even after she was warned after her 6th birth by an experienced Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA) that she was endangering her life.
According to him, all his pleas fell on deaf ears as she later had her 7th child and got pregnant for the 8th, which led to her death.
A critical analysis of the events leading to the death of Jemina revealed that one major cause of her death was that she patronized TBAs rather than health facilities, where she would have been counselled on the implications of not spacing her children, and the need to enroll in family planning programmes.
Family planning (FP) refers to the conscious efforts by a couple to limit or space the number of children they have through the use of contraceptive methods.
It is also described as a practice that helps couples to avoid unwanted pregnancies, bring out wanted births, and ultimately determine the number of children in the family.
The United Nations Conference on Human Rights at Teheran, Iran, in 1968 recognised it as a basic Human Right and as a concept beyond just birth control.
Family Planning has been added to the 5th Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as an indicateor for tracking progress in improving material health.
Modern contraceptive methods include male/female condoms, female/male Sterilization, the pill, the intra-uterine device (IUD), injectibles, implants, the diaphragm, foam/jelly, lactation amenorrhea (LAM) and emergency contraception.
The traditional methods include Rhythm (periodic abstinence) and withdrawal methods. Modern contraceptives with short-term and reversible features such as pill, injectible and male condoms are more commonly found in Africa and Europe than elsewhere in the world.
The long term methods such as IUD or sterilization, on the other hand, are more common in Asia and North America.
The most common contraceptives in Nigeria include injectibles, male condoms and the pill. Other modern methods used by some women include IUD, implants, diaphragm and emergency contraceptives.
Family planning can also reduce maternal mortality by 20 per cent or more, and infants are twice more likely to survive if the previous birth interval is at least two years.
Access to family planning services can bring about a drop in unintended pregnancies by 77 per cent. This can lead to a corresponding reduction in the number of women requiring medical care from complications of unsafe abortions.
This will result in important health benefits to individuals, families, and the nation at large. It will subsequently contribute towards the control of population growth and the achievement of the MDGs.
The implacable from the case of Jemina, is that when family planning services are provided and made easily accessible, it will reduce maternal mortality.
In the same vein, if Jemina had accessed family planning, she would have been counseled by health care providers on the dangers of getting pregnant almost yearly. Now, she is dead, her case may be just one of a considerable number of women, whose cases were not noticed.
To ensure quality family planning, palladium, a United States-based organization that works towards improving livelihood and economies of countries, especially developing countries recently inaugurated the advocacy working group on family planning in Port Harcourt to increase its contraceptive prevalence rate in the state.
According to the Adviser, Health System Strengthening, Health Plus Project, Palladium , Dr Emeka Nwanchukwu “one of the objectives of the inauguration is rally support for family planning issues among political leaders and various stakeholders to improve on budgetary allocation for family planning communities in the state”.
As part of efforts to ensure improved family planning services, according to the Rivers State programme officer, Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN), Emmanuel Owor, “you must have very good work force”.
For this reason, he said, the PPFN in the state has made man-power development in family planning an annual priority.
According to him, in 2015 the PPFN trained 50 family planning services providers in the state. They include Doctors, midwives, and pharmacists. Due to the economic crunch, however, the organisation has been able to train only 25 personnel’s this year. These trainings, he noted, commenced in 1979, a year after establishment of the PPFN.
Towards enhancing effective family planning service delivery, Owor said a project called “Cluster Model”, by PPFN also ensure that private clinics are brought in as partners with relevant memoranda of understanding (MoU) signed.
Staff of such clinics are then trained to provide family planning services accordingly, under the close supervision of the PPFN.
From these private clinics, the PPFN gets monthly records of those accessing family planning services.
Investigations reveal that so far, the government is mainly involved in the provision of health facilities and man-power, and because most of these health facilities are situated in the urban areas ,family planning services are mostly concentrated in the urban areas.
The rural, especially hard-to-reach areas are virtually cut-off from accessing the family planning services. This explains why most key cases such as that of Jemina occur in the rural areas.
Even when family planning services are available in the urban areas, there is as much ignorance and or negligence as there are people of productive age who find it extremely difficult to access good health, due mainly to economic down turn.
For the government to be able to reasonably check maternal mortality and neonatal death in this wise, it has to go beyond merely provision of health facilities and manpower development.
The government needs to come up with more equipped health facilities and free family planning commodities in all communities, as well as institute relevant legislation that would make it mandatory for every adult to access family planning services when the need arises.
This also means that it behoves of the government to provide a conducive environment, such as increased budgetary allocation to family planning, improved man-power development and ensure accessibility by the lowest class of the citizenry.
Sogbeba Dokubo
IVY-K Fashion by Igiebor Daddy Lucky, a Nigerian-born designer now based in the UK, has launched the latest menswear line, Dapper Man.
One of the collection’s strengths is its classic, clean aesthetic. Dapper Man delivers sharp, structured suits in a timeless black and white color scheme that exudes a sense of luxury and professionalism. The use of high-quality fabrics like wool and silk ensures that the suits not only look high-end but also feel luxurious to the wearer. The designer’s focus on detail is evident in the meticulous tailoring, with fitted blazers and crisp trousers forming the foundation of the collection.
Where IVY-K Fashion shines is in the subtle yet elegant touches. The inclusion of beads as embellishments on lapels and cuffs adds a unique flair, blending traditional craft with modern tailoring. This nod to African heritage gives the collection a distinct identity, offering something more personal and culturally significant than your standard menswear line.
However, despite the elegance of the Dapper Man collection, there is a lingering sense of missed opportunity. The black-and-white color palette, while classic, feels overly safe. In a fashion landscape where bold colors and daring patterns often make the strongest impact, the collection could benefit from incorporating more vibrant hues or experimenting with unconventional fabrics. Pushing the envelope with color or texture could elevate these designs from simply elegant to truly memorable.
In addition, while the tailoring of the blazers and trousers is immaculate, the collection lacks a sense of playfulness or modern edge that many contemporary menswear lines are embracing. The suits are undoubtedly stylish, but the collection as a whole leans heavily on tradition. Experimenting with asymmetrical cuts, bold patterns, or even layering could add an exciting dimension to Dapper Man. The challenge is to maintain the sleek sophistication of the collection while infusing it with a fresh, innovative spirit.
Another area that could use improvement is the overall cohesion of the collection. While the suits are well-crafted, there is a feeling of repetition across the pieces. More variation in design, such as different lapel styles, pocket configurations, or even bolder accessories, would give the collection greater diversity and visual interest.
In conclusion, Dapper Man by Igiebor Daddy Lucky showcases the designer’s strong grasp of classic tailoring and elegant design, but to truly capture the attention of a broader audience, IVY-K Fashion would benefit from more daring choices. By infusing the collection with bold colors, unexpected textures, and a more modern edge, Dapper Man could move from a well-crafted line to a trendsetting force in men’s fashion. With such a solid foundation, there’s no doubt that Igiebor Daddy Lucky has the potential to lead his brand toward greater heights
The trend of indecent dressing all in the name of fashion is fast becoming a norm in our generation and society at large. Most married women embrace this fashion as competition with single ladies.
Different scholars have given an in depth insight about dressing as a tool of communication. Non-verbal communication has been asserted as the communication between people by the means of signs or symbols. It conveys what we wish to disseminate to the public as either intentionally or not.
According to Paul Ekman and Michael Argyle, communication is carried out through what has been classified as “Presentational Code”. He listed nine codes of non-verbal communication, as body contact, facial expression, gestures, postures, eye movement, proximity, orientation, head nods and appearance.
This, being stated, married and single ladies should understand that their mode of dressing is communicative be it directly or indirectly as such body parts we call “private” are now being made public because of the trends or wearing of transparent dresses and this in turn calls on the attention of men who are weak and prone to illicit thoughts thus, resulting to most rape cases in our society.
This indecent dressing by most ladies has denied many their future husbands. The truth is that a man is attracted to his kind; his desires in marriage. It is often asserted that decency and beauty are in the eyes of the beholder, yet, in trending times of this 21st century, dress code and fashion in nudity form is gaining popularity.
This has become complicated as most men tend to toggle between their emotions (lust) and sanity (rationality) in terms of marriage, thereby setting a wrong foundation upon which most marriages are consummated.
On the other hand, most married women have embraced the trend of indecent dressing nipping it on the state of it being the choice dressing, approved by their spouses, leaving society with the question of what “responsible” man would prefer that the secrecy of the benefit of his marital vow has become the centre of attraction and viewership by the general public.
Hence, communicating with their dressing gas given licence to every male gender who is interested or attracted to what they see to make unsolicited sexual passes at them, which might be considered embarrassing.
At this juncture, it is important to state that ladies should dress decently knowing that they are the epitome of nation-building, they are nation-builders, character moulders and pacesetters not just in the lives of their families but to the society at large.
In most occasions, there are no clear border lines between the married women and the single ladies because of the rate of scanty dressing which has close the gap of differences.
Women and girls should embrace this call awakening to decent mode of dressing. Dresses that are meant to be worn indoors should remain indoors.
It is worrisome to see ladies wear shorts that are supposed to be worn in the living room on the streets without shame. This is an awakening call to our ladies, married and singles that the opposite sex do not expose their private body parts for the public. Sometimes, the ladies go about in the streets without wearing brazziers as to showcase their nipples.
The society should be sanitised of the menace of indecent dressing that is lurking and taking over the entire nooks and crannies of the society and the nation at large.
Let it be known that he or she is addressed in the manner he or she is dressed. There may be no room for a second impression. To the single ladies, your dressing decently will not stop you from meeting your Mr Right rather, it will increase your stake and place you on the list of most valued women in the society.
Dressing speaks louder than words.
Kate Chisom Isiocha
Isiocha is an OND final year student of Temple Gate Polytechnic.
