Ebonyi State on Friday joined the rest of the world to mark the 2026 World Contraception Day with a call for improved access to family planning to reduce maternal mortality and unsafe abortions.
The week-long activities which climaxed with a road walk on September 26, 2026, commenced from Pa Ngele Oruta Township Stadium, Abakaliki to Eke-Aba Market where residents were sensitized on making informed and voluntary choices about their reproductive health.
Addressing the crowd, the Coordinator of Family Planning, Ministry of Health, Mrs. Christy Ikechukwu said this year's theme is: "No Barriers, Just Choices: Contraceptive Access Now." She thanked development partners such as Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics (JHPIEGO), MSI Nigeria Reproductive Choices and Prevailing Global Development Initiative (PGDI) for their support.
She said family planning services are free in all healthcare centres in the state and encouraged residents to visit the health facility nearest to them.
Mrs. Ikechukwu commended the State Government's achievements in the health sector and appreciated the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma for deploying adequate manpower to health facilities across the state which she said has helped increase family planning uptake in rural communities.
According to her, "contraception saves lives and transforms the future. I enjoin government, development partners, and community leaders to strengthen investments in reproductive health and ensure no woman of child-bearing age is left behind."
She dismissed misconceptions about side effects of contraceptives and advised men to support their partners to access accurate information and appropriate health services.
Contributing, MSI Regional Manager, South, Mrs. Ogoamaka Aginam, emphasized that child spacing reduces high maternal and neonatal death rates adding that when families plan properly, communities thrive, poverty declines and the cycle of ill health is broken.
She lamented cultural and religious barriers hindering access and advised women irrespective of age or marital status to guarantee their dignity, health and the future of their children through contraception.
On their part, the Family Planning Supervisor, Ohaukwu LGA, Mrs. Okpaga Mary and her Ezza South counterpart, Mrs. Eleke Jacinta, maintained that the global campaign's vision is a world where every pregnancy is wanted pointing out that unwanted pregnancies contribute to preventable deaths.
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