UZINDUZI WA UZAZI WA MPANGO. ULIVYO FANA

MC. MWALEKWA
Hotuba ya Mr. Daniel Crapper

Speech for Daniel

Hon. Deputy Minister for Health & Social Welfare, Dr. Aisha Kigoda,
Asst. Director for Reproductive Health & Maternal Child,Dr. Neema Rusibamayila
Ilala Deputy Mayor, Hon. Jerry Slaa
Mchafukoge Ward Councilor, Hon. Yakoub
Members of UN agencies present
MoHSW members present
PSI partners and staff members present

Ladies and Gentlemen, good-morning and welcome!

It is a pleasure to meet all of you today to talk about reproductive health issues. As you know, Tanzania has achieved good success in HIV/AIDS and malaria over the past few years, and the rate of new HIV infections is going down, as is the number of deaths caused by malaria.

This is not the case for family planning: many men and women in Tanzania are still in need of family planning products and services and are not able to find the method that suits them best.

On one hand, choosing to plan your family can be considered a very personal choice, but on the other hand, it is really important to remember that family planning is a key strategy to reduce maternal mortality, to improve the health of mothers and newborn babies, and to allow families to take better care of their children.

The government of Tanzania recognizes the importance of family planning and is demonstrating its commitment to make services widely available throughout the country. By 2015, the GoT would like to see 60% of couples using a method to plan their families. But today as we speak, the level of use is still low, below 25% of the population (of reproductive age), even though another 25% claim that they would like to space or limit their family but are not using any method.

One of the key barriers to achieving a higher rate of use in Tanzania remains misconceptions: people have misconceptions about what family planning is about (some say it is an invention by white people to limit the population in Africa); there are misconceptions about how modern contraceptives work (some people think it can cause cancer or make women infertile); and there are misconceptions about what to expect when using modern family planning methods (can a baby really be born with an IUD in its hand??).

There is also a lack of involvement from men as key decision-makers in health issues, as well as a lack of understanding about how these methods work, how safe they are, and how highly effective they are.

This past year, PSI Tanzania has been in contact with thousands of men and women in the field and has listened to their questions, their experiences, their fears. In some remote areas around Mwanza, PSI teams were greeted by women saying “where have you been all these years? Why are you coming only now? I have 11 children and I want no more”.

From this research, and other quantitative and qualitative research, PSI Tanzania was able to identify key messages that need to be communicated to help men and women adopt a healthier behavior and better plan their families: these are messages about choice, messages about achieving their aspirations and their goals through better planning, and messages about the safety, the effectiveness and the ease of use of contraceptive methods.

The campaign starting today will be rolled out at various levels. Mass media messages through the Amka radio drama and newspapers strips will definitely raise awareness and create interest; but they will also be strongly supported by on-the-ground interventions in local communities. In partnership with local government authorities, PSI will increase its efforts in IPC activities, involving men and women at the community level, and linking them to trained providers in the field to guarantee access to better counseling, better choice of methods, including long-term methods, and high quality services.

As we are about to unveil the core concept of the campaign, it is important for us to thank the key contributors to this campaign: first, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in particular the IEC unit and Health Education Unit for their constant guidance and support; all our partners present today without forgetting the media who will contribute to make this campaign a success.

With these words, I would like to welcome you again and I hope you enjoy this event.
Thank

Naibu Waziri Wizara ya Afya na Ustawi wa Jamii, Dkt.Asha Kigoda(kulia) akipokea mchoro wa picha yenye sura yake huku ikiwa imepambwa na rangi za Uzazi wa Mpango huo, kutoka kwa Mkurugenzi wa mawasiliano wa shirika la PSI Bi.Mery Mwanjelwa.Wanaoshuhudia kutoka kushoto ni Diwani wa Kata ya Mchafukoge Bw. Mohamed Yakybu,Mkurugenzi wa PSI Tanzania,Bw.Daniel Crapper na Naibu Mkurugenzi wa PSI,Bw.Romanus Mtung'e

MPOTO

Taarifa kwa Vyombo vya Habari
PSI Tanzania yazindua kampeni kuhamasisha matumizi sahihi ya njia za uzazi wa mpango

Kwa maelezo zaidi
Wasiliana na Mary Mwanjelwa
Mkurungenzi wa Ushirikiano
PSI/Tanzania
Simu: 0787 032800
Barua pepe: mmwanjelwa@psi.or.tz

Dar es Salaam Machi 24, 2010 … Katika kuendeleza juhudi za kuhamasisha matumizi sahihi ya njia za uzazi wa mpango na kuondoa dhana potofu kuhusiana na huduma hizo, shirika la PSI/Tanzania kwa kushirikiana na Wizara ya Afya na Ustawi wa Jamii leo limenzidua kampeni ya kitaifa itakayolenga maeno hayo.

Lengo kuu la kampeni hiyo ni kuelimisha umma na kutoa taarifa sahihi kuhusiana na matumizi ya njia za kisasa za uzazi wa mpango, njia zinazotakiwa kufuatwa kabla ya kuanza kutumia njia za uzazi wa mpango na faida zitokanazo na uzazi wa mpango.
Ili kuhakikisha kuwa taarifa sahihi zinawafikia wananchi wote hapa nchini, PSI/Tanzania imepanga kutumia njia zote kuu za mawasiliano, radio, luninga, magazeti, michezo ya kuigiza, mabango ya matangazo na michoro katika maeno mbalimbali hapa nchini.

Akiongea katika hafla ya uzinduzi rasmi wa kampeni hiyo, Naibu Waziri wa Afya na Ustawi wa Jamii, Dk Aisha Kigoda alisema inasikitisha kuona kwamba bado Watanzania walio wengi wahawatumii njia za kisasa za uzazi wa mpango wakati huduma hizo zipo.

Alisema pamoja na jitihada nyingi ambazo zinafanyika za uhamasishaji wa matumizi ya uzazi wa mpango bado matumizi ya njia hizo hapa nchini yapo chini.
“Takwimu zinaonesha kwamba ni asilimia 20 tu ya walengwa waliotarajiwa kutumia ndio wanaotumia njia za kisasa katika kupanga uzazi.

“Idadi hii ni ndogo sana na hasa ikizingatiwa kuwa bado wananchi walio wengi wanaendelea kupata watoto bila kupanga na wengi wao wanashindwa hata kuwapatia huduma muhimu za kijamii. Idadi kubwa ya watoto pia inakuwa mzigo kwa wanajamii husika na serikali yetu,” alisema Waziri.

Alisema kuwa pamoja na idadi ya watumiaji wa njia za uzazi wa mpango kuwa ndogo, pia taifa linakabiliwa na tatizo lingine la kuwa na idadi kubwa ya wanawake ambao hawajifungui kwa wakati muafaka. Wanawake walio wengi hapa nchini wanajifungua ama mapema sana, yaani wakiwa na umri mdogo au wakiwa wamechelewa, yaani wakiwa na umri wa zaidi ya miaka 35.

“Takwimu zinatuonesha kwamba akinamama wengi hapa nchini wanapoteza maisha kwa sababu ya kubeba ujauzito katika muda ambao sio muafaka. Ama wanabeba ujauzito wakiwa na umri mdogo sana, ama wakiwa na umri mkubwa sana au wanabeba ujauzito mara nyingi sana na wengine wanabeba ujauzito mara kwa mara, yote haya ni hatari kwa maisha ya akinamama,” alisema Dk Aisha.

Alisema kutokana na sababu hizo akina mama wengi wanapoteza maisha wakati wa kujifungua na kuacha watoto wao ambao baadhi yao hupoteza maisha kutokana na kukosa malezi bora.

Waziri aliongeza kusema kwamba serikali inachukua juhudi za makusudi katika kushughulikia matatizo ya vifo vya wajawazito wakati wa kujifungua. Alisema kuwa hivi sasa juhudi zinafanywa katika kuboresha huduma katika wodi za kujifungulia na uhamasishaji wa wajawazito kuhakikisha wanajifungua katika vituo vya afya ili kupata msaada wa wauguzi.

Alisema kuwa serikali imejiwekea malengo ya kuhakikisha kwamba ifikapo mwaka 2015 idadi ya watumiaji wa njia za kisasa za uzazi wa mpango inaongezeka hadi kufikia asilimia 60.

Kwa upande wake Mkurungenzi Mtendaji wa PSI, Daniel Crapper, alisema yapo mambo mengi yasiyo ya kweli yanayozungumzwa mitaani kuhusiana na njia za kisasa za uzazi wa mpango.

Alisema zipo huduma za aina nyingi za uzazi wa mpango na kwamba katika hizo kila mwanamke anaweza kupata aina mojawapo ambayo anaweza kutumia bila kupata madhara yoyote ya kiafya.

“Ni vema wanannchi wakaelewa kwamba njia za kisasa za uzazi wa mpango ni salama kiafya na zimethibitishwa na Shirika la Afya Duniani (WHO), Wizara ya Afya na Ustawi wa Jamii na idara nyinginezo za serikali,” alisema Crapper.

Aliongeza kusema kuwa mambo mengi yanayozungumzwa mitaani kuhusiana na athari za njia za kisasa za uzazi wa mpango ni za uzushi na kushauri wananchi kupata ushauri wa watoa huduma za uzazi wa mpango kabla ya kuanza kutumia njia hizo.