KK WOMEN PAY FOR FAMILY PLANNING METHODS REPLACE

BY  CHINSINSI CHEKETA

NKHOTAKOTA – Slow response by heath personnel in addressing challenges facing women after taking family planning methods, has been cited as a major contributing factor to low uptake of the services among women in Nkhotakota.

The concern was raised on Friday during a sensitization campaign aimed at encouraging women to access the services which was co-organized by Quadria Muslim Association of Malawi (QMAM) and Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) with funding from USAID through HP+ held in the district

One of the women Jenifer Duka reported that, most of the women experience prolonged menstruation period after taking the pills among other effects, a development which is making a good number of women quit the services.

She said: “When we go to medical personnel to seek for another method to replace the other, we are demanded to pay an amount of more than K2500 and this makes us (women) quit the services”.

Nkhotakota district hospital’s family planning coordinator Dolisa Msiska refuted the allegations, saying all family planning services offered at the hospital are for free.

“I urge them to report such cases to relevant authorities, and those facing side effects after taking the pills should be coming quickly report the matter to medical personnel”, said Msiska.

QMAM’s Programs officer Osman Chunga reaffirmed organizations commitment in sensitizing both Christian and Islamic women on the need to use family planning methods in order to reduce the country’s over population.

The recent population and housing statistics have placed Nkhotakota on 395,897 people against the country’s population of 17,563,749.