The Maitama District Hospital in Abuja says its 2016 data shows that condom used is the most preferred family planning method evidenced by 18,950 male condoms uptake.
Known as the barrier method, the hospital said 403 female condoms compared to 266 oral contraceptives, 261 injectables, 260 intrauterine contraceptive methods, and 172 implants, have been accepted by patients.
Speaking at United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UK Department of International Develoment (DFID) facilitated visits Thurday in Abuja, the Chief Medical Director of Maitama District Hospital, Dr Adetoun Sotimehim said contraceptive use at the hospital has increased to 61 per cent among their patients.
According to Sotimehim, family planning commodities and services at the hospital are free courtesy of the funding from DFID through UNFPA adding that this has improved the uptake FP service among women in the FCT.
She also sought UNFPA’s assistance in manpower training, acquisition of information technology equipment to connect the family planning clinic to the larger hospital ICT space and a commodity mobilization vehicle to scale up their FP services.
He said “We have expanded and licensed life saving training for our midwives and modified life saving scheme for some of our staff members that were chosen but there are still some that have not been trained, we need your support in that.”
“I just want to thank the federal government for bringing family planning commodities free and our mothers and fathers are really accepting family planning. But we have problem of consumables. The family planning commodities are there but we have problem with consumables and most of the times, they are not available,” he added.
For the UNFPA Executive Director, Dr Babatude Osotimehin said their mission to the hospital was for DFID to see what they were doing with resources which were been made available to them “and how we are reaching out to Nigerians who require family planning services.”
“I want to underscore the fact that what you are getting through UNFPA/Ministry of Health is actually throughly donations and generosity of the British Government,” he added.
