Earlier today, a Nigerian enthusiast of health policy and research, Atunde Ahmed Olarewaju joined global leaders in the Reproductive Health industry at the virtual Global Health Open Mic organised by ThinkMD. ThinkMD is an eHealth company working on enhancing health care decision making through the use of data.
Atunde spoke alongside Elizabeth Adhiambo, a
Community Health Leader working with Mathare North Health Center, Kenya, Hiwot Wubshet, the
Country Director of Maternity Foundation, Ethiopia, John Wabwire, a Community Health Advocate leading CHW Impact CBO in Kenya and Dr Pandora Hardtman,
Chief Nursing & Midwifery Officer of Jhpiego, Guyana and USA among others. Also present at the event was Tammy Sutherns, the Communications Officer of ThinkMD among other members of ThinkMD’s Team.
As a researcher working within the Nigerian Conflict Zone, Atunde talked about the knowledge of contraceptives among women and girls living in the Boko Haram affected region of Nigeria.
He said that nearly 35 million people have been displaced within the zone since the terror attacks begins in 2009. After 12 years people who have been dispersed from their homes remain scattered within IDP Camps and thousands of mini-settlements within the affected States.
The young health researcher who has worked on projects relating to innovations and redevelopment of the zone in the post-conflict era maintained that as an important component of maternal, newborn and childbirth health, the knowledge of contraceptives among the female population is important to the population health of the zone. He maintained that reproductive health is in turn a component of the redevelopment which absence will forfeit efforts made by social engineers working in the affected region.
He maintained that studies within the Northeast community have indicated that the knowledge of contraceptives is low among the women and girls in the region. He said that the lack of information about contraception methods flows from the low level of education in the Northeast region being exacerbated by terror attacks that left the schools inaccessible.
“The cultural practices of people living in the region are also a causational factor hindering the spread of the knowledge and practice of contraception in a region. The women are under the pressure to give birth to more children, especially those in the polygamous families”.
Atunde stated that the fact of the low coverage of constructive practice can easily be linked to the evidence of the high level of maternal mortality within the region. The Northeast of Nigeria has the highest rate of maternal mortality at 1,549 out of 100,000 in the country.
Talking to the participants at the open mic about the importance of contraceptives, Atunde stated that research has shown that increase in the coverage of contraceptives in the low and medium-income countries has the potential of cutting maternal mortality by 44%.
He concluded on the note that community engagement has successfully been used as a tool for a cultural shift in the region. The inclusion of the community in educational initiatives to exacerbate the practice of contraception will have a more positive effect on people, particularly women and girls.