Story from Bashir ABUBAKAR, Bauchi
It has been discovered that Fulani nomads traversing Bauchi State in search of pasture for their flocks are imbibing the culture of Child Birth Spacing (CBS) in their respective colonies.
This discovery was disclosed by a Ward Development Committee (WDC) chairman in Ganjuwa Local Government of Bauchi state, Mustapha Ibrahim when members of Bauchi Public HealthMedia Network (BPHMN) visited a Primary Health Care centre (PHC) in Kafin Madaki, headquarters of Ganjuwa LG of Bauchi State.
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Ibrahim attributed the successes recorded in the uptake of CBS services to the consistent door-to-door awareness campaign the WDCs have been carrying out in the Local Government.
The chairman said that their awareness campaign on the benefits of CBS among couples has taken them to even Fulani nomads settlements with a view to changing their perception on CBS.
“I am happy to inform you that now, not only do Fulani nomads visit health facilities to access CBS services, but their men also keyed into the campaign by seeking for CBS methods designed for men to complement their spouses’ efforts too”.
“Also, it may interest you to know that, due to the early marriage culture among the nomads, we have witnessed situations where parents of newly wedded couples come to the facility seeking for CBS methods, on behalf of their children, to delay conceiving until after such a time when the girl reaches childbearing age”, said the Ibrahim.
On how CBS services can further be improved, the WDC chairman appeals to government and partners to always ensure a steady supply of CBS commodities to avoid stock out of such commodities at the health facilities in the LG.
One of the client, Saude Aliyu, who spoke to one of Neptune Prime’s correspondent said that she is a mother of four who was introduced to CBS services after her second birth and since then they have been practising 3-4 years interval between births.
“As a matter of fact, my husband is of the idea that after our fifth child, we are stopping giving birth altogether. He believes that the measure will allow us to concentrate more on the children we have and will also enable us to have more time for ourselves”, said the mother.
Earlier, while interacting with members of the Network, the deputy officer in charge of the facility, Sani Usman Shall, said that no fewer than 60 CBS clients access the services monthly, pointing out that in October, the facilities ran out of CBS commodities due to the high demand of the services among couples.
The visit to the Kafin Madaki PHC and other facilities as part of the Network’s activity to ascertain the level of uptake of CBS services and is being supported by The Challenges Initiative (TCI), a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded project in Bauchi State, whose primary focus is centred around creating the enabling environment at PHCs for clients to access CBS services in a friendly environment.
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