More Nigerian couples and other individuals have been visiting health facilities to access modern family planning services as a means of surviving the current economic hardship, experts have said.

It was gathered that the number of married women who visit various Family Planning units of hospitals has been increasing as they adopt different methods of contraceptives that suit their body systems.

A medical practitioner and the Osun State Family Planning Coordinator, Mrs. Ololade Margaret Abatan, confirmed that the harsh economic situation in the country has been enabling more acceptability of family planning methods.

She said the narrative is gradually changing from when couples, especially women, used to boycott family planning, thus giving birth to a number of children that is beyond their economic status.

Abatan said the monthly reports from various health facilities indicated a surge in the uptake of modern family planning contraceptives by both the married and unmarried as a way of planning their lives, spacing their pregnancies and living within their financial means.

Enumerating the different kinds of modern contraceptives that people could adopt to control birth and also avoid unwanted pregnancy, she said, “There are different planning methods starting from the male and female condoms, we have the daily pills, then we have different types of injectable, we have the self-injectable aspect, we call it DMPNC, the individual clients can inject themselves at home, there won’t be need for them to come to the facility to meet the provider.

“The trained provider would have trained the clients on how to inject themselves to be able to reduce the hospital visitation. We also have the implant which will be inserted in the arm, we have the one for three years and for five years, and also, we have the IUD that will be put in the womb for women that can use it for longer years even up to 12 years. We have the permanent method for women, we have bilateral tubal ligation and for men, we have vasectomy.”

“We have different methods of modern contraceptive family planning that can be taken by clients and the decision to take up a method will be based on the adequate counselling by the service providers at the facility to ensure that the clients make an informed decision and choice,” she added.

The family planning expert called on more couples to ensure that they give at least, two years interval before getting another pregnancy in order to prevent high complications that may arise while expecting a baby.

Abatan said high risk pregnancies occur when women have childbirth less than two years apart and pregnancies that occur at less than two years intervals.

She said there are tendencies that whenever a woman is pregnant, the husband becomes the sole provider for the family and such a situation could make it more difficult for the man to cater for the family needs alone.

Abatan, who said it is “too many” for couples to have more than four children, urged couples to strike a balance between their economic realities and the number of children to give birth to.

Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL), has lost his 25-year-old daughter.

As at the time Investors King was filing this report, details of her death were sketchy.

The deceased, identified as Fatima Kyari passed away on Friday.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has condoled with the CEO over the tragic incident.

Shettima, who prayed for the peaceful repose of the deceased, asked God to grant the family members the strength to bear the painful exit of their daughter, who was in her prime.

The Vice-President led other mourners at the funeral prayer, held at the Annur Mosque in Abuja.

The Borno State government has secured a donation of 1.2 million Euros from the Swiss Federation to support victims of the recent floods in the state.

The donation, handed to the Borno State Flood Disaster Relief Fund, was announced by the Swiss Ambassador to Nigeria, Nicolas Lang, who headed a delegation from the Swiss Embassy on a condolence visit to the government house in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Ambassador Lang, who was accompanied by Senior Humanitarian Advisor Nicolas Martin-Achard and Senior Political Advisor Florent Geel, noted that an earlier donation received by the Swiss government was successfully used for its intended purpose which was to aid the Borno Model and help mitigate the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region.

He emphasized that the donations indicate Switzerland’s continued support to the Borno State government, particularly residents affected by the crisis.

He said, “The earlier contribution was successfully deployed for its intended purpose, supporting the Borno Model and helping to mitigate the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region.”

“These donations in 2023 and 2024 demonstrate Switzerland’s continued support and solidarity with the Borno State Government and the people of Borno affected by the crises.”

Meanwhile, Governor Babagana Zulum, on behalf of the people of Borno State, thanked the Swiss government for their support describing it as generous, especially in this difficult time.

He thanked the ambassador for his visit and solidarity.

Zulu said, “On behalf of the government and the people of Borno, I extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Swiss government for their generous support during this difficult time. We also appreciate Ambassador Lang and his delegation for their visit and expressions of solidarity.”

He noted that the donation would play a crucial role in bringing the needed relief to the affected victims and pledged that the funds would be transparently and efficiently utilised.