General News
FG Rolls Out Radio Campaign To Tackle Maternal Deaths
As part of efforts to reduce Nigeria’s high maternal mortality rate, the Federal Government is set to use radio jingles to promote family planning, child spacing and early antenatal care.
The Director of Health Promotion at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. John Urakpa, disclosed this at a workshop on the development of the radio jingles in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
Dr. Urakpa said the campaign would encourage women to make informed choices about contraceptive methods, while urging pregnant women to commence antenatal care early and ensure that they deliver in health facilities.
He stressed that pregnancy should not be seen as a death sentence, noting that many maternal deaths could be prevented through timely access to appropriate healthcare.
“We are here to develop radio jingles for family planning uptake because our mortality rate is very high, and the Federal Government is committed to reducing it before the 2030 deadline,” he said.
According to him, the campaign would encourage women who require contraceptives to make informed choices, while mobilising pregnant women to attend antenatal care early and participate actively in decisions concerning their healthcare.
Also speaking, the Senior Knowledge and Communication Officer of the Association for Reproductive and Family Health, Samson Odukogbe, said effective communication was critical to helping women and families understand the benefits of family planning and other reproductive health services.
Odukogbe added that the campaign would address misconceptions about family planning and encourage families and communities to support women in making informed reproductive health decisions.
He explained that the radio jingles would also promote self-injectable family planning, particularly the DMPA-SC method, as an option that gives eligible women greater privacy, convenience and control over their reproductive health choices.
He said women should receive proper information and training from qualified health workers on how to safely self-administer the method and know when to seek further guidance or resupply.
Odukogbe called for collective action involving women, husbands, families, community influencers and other stakeholders to promote safe motherhood and increase the uptake of essential reproductive health services.