By Fatou Sowe in CRR
The United Nations Population Fund in partnership with SOS Mother’s Clinic (Safe my mother project) has begun a three-day campaign with the theme “Family Planning: Yes to Choice, No to Chance” in the Central River Region settlements of Bansang, Janjanbureh, Bora-ba, Fula bantang ,and Brikamaba.
The campaign team, which is using a multi-disease approach and awareness raising programs as an entry point to family planning, aims to creat a greater understanding of family planning services and commodities, generate demand for uptake of family planning services in communities, and register new family planning acceptors.
Speaking at the opening ceremony in Bansang Alieu Jammeh of UNFPA explained that the campaign aims to scale up family planning services in the country and as well ensure every woman of reproductive age is given the required services and information on family planning and management irrespective of their residential and economic status.
Famara Fatty, a representative of Child and Reproductive Health Unit under the Ministry of Health revealed that all the religions place high premium on family planning as an effective method to enhance the general well-being of the family members.
He said forefathers used to allow their wives to use “Jujus” as a method of child spacing and fertility control, therefore the usage of modern tools and services to replace those practices shouldn’t be seen as ungodly.
Fatty used the occasion to dispel the myths and misconceptions that are ascribed to family planning intake, challenging men to be steadfast in providing morale, economic, health and educational needs of their families.
The three-day awareness creation and free family planning services in CRR would utilize strategies such as community outreach programs, “husband schools” (a men alone sensitization on family planning), regional football tournaments, radio talk shows, HIV and AIDS and cervical cancer screening, testing, guidance and counseling services.
