The Directior, Public Health, Rivers State Primary Healthcare Management Board, RSPHCMB, Dr. Isaac Opurum, has charged couples and women of child bearing age on the use of contraceptives available at Primary Healthcare facilities across the state.
Opurum gave the charge in an interview with The Tide, Saturday, in his office in Port Harcourt to commemorate this year’s World Contraception Day (WCD).
He said, “I encourage us as fellow citizens, especially fertile couples to seek reproductive and sexual healthcare in any primary health centre near you, request and access routine family counseling and contraceptive services.’’
The Public Health director noted that the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic, and its attendant lockdown restrictions could lead to unintended pregnancies, which he stated would bring about a ‘body boom’’ in post Covid-19 Pandemic.
He observed that family planning was beneficial in various ways, saying, ‘’ among the many benefits of family planning are that it allows women to establish healthy birth spacing practices while women bodies heal in between births, allows women increased participation in the economic workforce, allows women to invest in themselves and their families supporting the men to raise household income, especially in these slightly more difficult economic times’’.
Furthermore he said, “family planning is among the four pillars of Safe Motherhood Initiative to reduce maternal death, especially in developing countries and cities as ours. World Health Organisation, WHO has also said, contraceptive use had been found to have important implications for maternal as well as adolescent health, because it helps the intervention, helps avert approximately 44 percent maternal deaths around the world’’.
He assured the availability of family planning services and commodities at no cost at public health facilities, adding that, “family planning methods remain safe and effective as there is a method that suits each woman personally’’.

By: Tonye Nria-Dappa