3rd March, 2020
In a bid to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), some experts have charged journalists to sensitise the public on the benefits of adopting family planning methods.
SDGs are a collection of 17 global goals set in 2015 by the UN General Assembly with a target to be achieved by 2030, which was designed to be a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
The experts gave the task during a four-day training in Abuja for newsmen on family planning on the use of Social Behaviour Change Communication in improving health among the general populace.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reported that the training was organised by the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI 2).
Dr Kunle Omotosho, Programs Manager, The Challenge Initiative (TCI), emphasised the role of family planning in national development, which he described as one of the paramount factors towards Nigeria’s quest to achieve SDGs.
“Family planning practice will aide us in achieving some of the SDGs, especially in the areas of eradicating poverty, zero hunger, improved good health and well-being, as well as access to quality education,” he said.
Mrs Saratu Olabode-Ojo, Technical Director Programmes, NURHI 2, said family planning would improve girl-child education as it would enable them to be knowledgeable on sex education, which would reduce risk of teenage pregnancy.
Olabode-Ojo added that family planning would also increase good health and well-being as well as reduce maternal mortality rate.
On his part, Mr Anslem Okolo, a media consultant, while educating the participants on the role of media in information dissemination, advised media to use their platforms to encourage people to adopt family planning.
Okolo also tasked the participants to be knowledgeable on family planning before embarking on an exercise to enable them to disseminate factual information to the public.
Similary, Miss Ramatu Ochekliye, NURHI 2’s Social Media Officer, urged media practitioners to promote messages on effective family planning via different social media platforms to reach a wider audience.
While commending efforts of the media in disseminating information on family planning she, however, noted that the media needed to do more in dispelling certain myths and misconceptions about family planning.