The Federal Government has attributed the high rate of maternal mortality in the country to the inability of women to adequately use contraceptives to assist them in successfully spacing their children.
The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii said the intake of oral contraceptive is only 9%, quite low as compared with the sexual activities of Nigerians.
Dr Orhii who was speaking at the launch of a new child spacing product known as LOCON-F by the Society for Family Health (SFH) pointed out that lack of child spacing leads to a lot of unplanned pregnancies which results in abortions or worse deaths during child birth.
“The health risks of using oral contraceptives are much less than the risks of unwanted pregnancy and childbearing for almost all women, especially in countries with high maternal mortality rates,” he said.
He said the refusal of women to take oral contraceptives has led to ‘high fertility rate’ in the region, undermined related goals such as reducing child mortality, hunger and malnutrition.
“If a woman has finished giving birth and still gets pregnant it increases the risk of maternal deaths and makes it harder for families to afford schooling and health care for the children,” the NAFDAC boss said.
Earlier the managing director of Society for Family Health, Mr. Bright Ekweremadu said that the drug will go along way in preserving the lives of women as well as that of their children, if they engage in taking oral contraceptives.
He said the society was committed to assisting Nigeria meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5, geared towards empowering and saving the lives of women and children.