BY EDITOR
14th November 2013
While in the Ethiopian capital, countries will present their reports on progress made in ensuring access by women and girls to family planning services.
At the four-day conference, which is co-hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproduction, delegates are expected to present research papers on family planning policies and practices in their respective countries.
Tanzania ought to use the opportunity asking itself whether it has made enough progress to achieve its goal of reaching 60 per cent of all women with modern contraceptive methods by 2015.
While the country’s family planning environment is said to be promising, there are reports of budgetary constraints leading to failure to accurately evaluate the headway made in the use of modern family planning methods.
That would effectively suggest that Tanzanian women have neither full access nor full choice to methods and services relating to modern family planning.
At a similar summit held in London in July last year, President Jakaya Kikwete reiterated Tanzania’s commitment to supporting family planning efforts, saying the country’s National Strategy for Growth and Poverty Reduction has strong components of family planning.
At least USD 88.2 million is needed in the five-year period to reach the nation’s goal as relates to family planning, while the national budget allocation for the purpose is understood to be too meagre to support the crusade as fully as expected.
Until mid last year, the use of modern contraceptive methods amongst women and girls in Tanzania was reported to have increased by a lowly 27 per cent in the last two decades.
It’s only two years left before the deadline of the five-year national development plan, under which the plan was to improve the use of modern contraceptive methods amongst girls and women by 60 per cent.
Yet, reports show that what we have accomplished in the past two decades is very little, and there is therefore little possibility of making up for lost time and hit the 60 per cent coverage goal in the remaining two years.
The National Assembly earlier this month discussed a number of bills and the 2014/2015 national development, most of thrust being on the development of infrastructure. There was hardly any talk on family planning – not even the eagerly awaited bill on reproductive health, which has remained “refrigerated” since February.
MPs advised the government to earmark a few priorities to focus on in the coming financial year, preferably with family among the top three. Considering population trends in our country relative to indicators relating to social and economic development, this would make a world of difference.
Delegates to the Addis Ababa conference have applauded Ethiopia for achieving remarkable improvement in family planning and working for a 100 rise in the use of modern contraceptives in a short six years.
Given that Tanzania is no stranger to the popularisation and use of modern family planning methods and services, it shouldn’t take stealing from Ethiopia’s experience to advance with even greater hope of succeeding. But we must be really serious and committed.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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