THE Oyo State government, in partnership with the Society for Family Health, the Planned Parenthood Federation, and other organizations, has urged women to make family planning a norm, emphasizing that contraception provides families with the freedom to plan, the power to choose, and options for all.
During a speech at the 2025 World Contraception Day in Ibadan, organized by the Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, the Society for Family Health, the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria, and other partners, Mrs. Folashade Olatunde, the State Family Planning Coordinator from the Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, emphasized that women should space their children for the benefit of both their own health and that of their children.
‘We are not advising them against having more children in the future. We want there to be a gap between each child to improve the woman’s health. Additionally, the health of the children will also benefit. We don’t want them to give birth every year, she stated.
According to her, family planning services are free and serve as a means to reduce maternal mortality rates.
Mercy Okeyode, State Programme Officer for the DISC 2.0 project in Oyo State at the Society for Family Health, explained that the celebration aimed to ensure women have access to all family planning options, enabling them to make informed decisions for their lives and families, prevent high-risk pregnancies, and reduce maternal mortality.
She declared, ‘The goal is to reduce the rate of abortions and unplanned pregnancies in the states. Contraception offers multiple benefits at various levels-for the individual, the family unit, and the nation as a whole.
‘We want to increase awareness and visibility of family planning throughout the state. Representatives from all 11 LGAs in Ibadan Metropolis are present at the celebration. We hope they will take these messages back to their respective local governments, intensify efforts to raise awareness, empower women to take charge of their health, and encourage men to support their wives in making informed choices for their families.’
In a statement, Mrs. Ajibola Adesope, the PPFN state clinic officer, reassured the public that family planning is about helping people decide when and how to have children, not about preventing them from having children.
‘Many people, due to the misconception that family planning is intended only for married couples, begin to restrict young people’s access to family planning services.
Unless you want to shy away from it, many unmarried couples also have unprotected sex. They, too, need protection from unintended pregnancy,’ Mrs. Adesope added.
Dr. Aderonke Atoyebi, the Medical Officer of Health for Ibadan Northwest Local Government in Onirike, told women during her health talks that a woman can recover from the stress of pregnancy and childbirth before choosing to become pregnant again if she allows sufficient time between pregnancies.
She urged increased support from husbands to enable women to space their children, enhanced training for healthcare workers on family planning, and greater government investment in health education for both women and men.
Dr. Atoyebi stated that health education is essential for dispelling myths and misconceptions about family planning, which will increase the utilization of family planning services.
A rally to raise awareness about the benefits of family planning and the availability of free family planning services was held as part of the 2025 World Contraception Day celebrations in marketplaces and communities.