Ladies from central Kenya region are the best users of
contraceptives and other methods of family planning in the country. The
National Council of Population and Development-NCPD regional
population coordinator Fedelis Ndung’u said that about 67 per cent of
fertile women in the area are under contraceptive according to NCPD
records.
She attributed their use to the slow growth of
population in the area which she claimed is growing at the rate of 1.6
per cent according to the 2009 census. She added that the growth rate
is the lowest in the country, claiming that other parts recorded a
three per cent growth.
The country’s population has been
increasing by about one million people in a year. However, she said the
use is in line with government’s policy to advocate for family
planning, claiming that the same is pertinent to economic status in the
country. “We are advocating for family planning and advicing couples
to have a number of children that they can sustain in provision of good
education, healthcare and housing,” said Ndung’u, adding that the
health of women with limited children is usually better than those
getting children yearly. She attributed the high use of the family
planning methods to high literacy level among women in the region.
“Women in this region are devoting much of their time in academics.
They
also have much knowledge on different ways of family planning and
therefore manage to keep the number of children they bear in check,”
she continued. She also noted that NCPD is campaigning and persuading
couples to plan their families and have a number of children that they
can be able to bring up without constrains and offer them quality and
standard life. She said her department has also been campaigning for
male involvement in contraception use which she admitted seems to be
hitting a snag due to culture.
She however, downplayed claims
that illicit brews were a contributing factor to the low population
growth saying it was as a result of contraceptive use. “Illicit brews
can be blamed for high irresponsibility in many families but not in
making babies,” she noted. On the issue of low number of children
attending schools in the recent years, the official said that it was
due to the region’s economic viability. Many people have afforded to
take their children in private schools rather than public ones.
She
said those who have been releasing reports on decrease in number of
children attending school take their data only in the public schools,
forgetting that the number of schools has also increased and especially
private schools which they overlook. "Those who release those
statistics only visit public schools where there are low numbers of
pupils," she pointed out.
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