From Umar Danladi Ado,
In Sokoto, shortage of family planning consumables hinders Service Utilisation at Asara Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Gwadabawa Local Government Area of the State.
This happening despite community acceptance and utilization, the facility struggles to provide services due to inadequate supplies.
The Focal Point for Family Planning, Muryam Muhammad, revealed that Asara PHC is facing a severe shortage of child spacing consumables, hindering service provision.
‘Currently, we have many clients seeking family planning services, but we lack sufficient commodities to meet demand,” she said.
Our correspondent who was on field trip to the area report that the supply intervals of the consumables items of up to two months further compound the issue, highlighting the need for urgent action to address the shortage and ensure uninterrupted access to essential reproductive health services.
Also, the supplied of the commodity to the facility at inconsistent intervals of up to two months, exacerbating the shortage.
The inadequate supply of essential commodities undermines the community’s acceptance and demand for child spacing services, hindering the facility’s ability to provide comprehensive reproductive health care.
Muhammad stated this through her assistant, Hajiya Safiratu Ibrahim, and with support from Asara PHC’s ANC In-charge, Asma’u Muhammad, Muryam explained that daily, numerous individuals seek child spacing services, but the unit’s shortage persists despite requests.
She noted that commodities were last supplied two weeks prior and attributed increased demand to TCI/Dev Com’s social mobilizers.
Majority of clients come from nearby villages and beyond such as from Sokoto, Tungar Zomo, Tungar Madugu, Tungar Dudu, Tungar Kwangi, Matse, Tudun Doki, Rumbuje, and even Gigane.
A woman from Sokoto town received a card from a social mobilizer and was registered for a family planning implant. She shared that she couldn’t afford the N5,000 charged for the implant elsewhere, which is why she came to Asara for free services.
The woman was able to access family planning services in our facility as result of dedication and hardworking of the social mobilizer and Asara’s free services.
“People from Gigane prefer our services due to privacy concerns,’ Muryam shared. ‘Some visit at night, and we attend to them discreetly.'”
According to her, Family Planning Services Gain Traction in Local Community.
“With social mobilizers’ assistance, people are increasingly accepting family planning services. Three social mobilizers distribute registration cards free of charge, encouraging individuals to visit the facility”.
In October, we recorded 149 individuals seeking FP services (126 new clients, 23 revisiting),this is with their husbands’ consent obtained for FP services.
Breakdown of FP services provided, Deprovera (3-month injectable): 49 clients,Sayana Press (3-month injectable): 19 clients and Implant (3-year): 45 clients.
Others are Jadelle (implant): 27 clients,Male Condoms: 70 distributed and Intrauterine Device (IUD): 2 clients among others.
We need a refresher training from TCI/Dev com on family planning,a dedicated storage for FP commodities in addition to essential FP kits and materials that includes,Cotton wool, Zylocaine, Hand gloves, Syringes and Povidone iodine.
