Malawi stand outs out in family planning

United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) says Malawi’s family planning programme is the best among Sub-Saharan countries as it is based on community approaches and hard work.

Usaid health office chief, Miriam Lutz, was speaking at a national and regional family planning stakeholders meeting at in Lilongwe on Thursday.

“We recognise that Malawi is at the forefront in promoting public health issues in the sub-Saharan region.  The country’s family planning programme is a model because of its community approach to health development,” said Lutz.

Deputy Minister of Health, Halima Daudi, who presided over the meeting, said the outstanding outcome is due to the nation’s commitment to improving access to family planning at community and clinic levels.

“The spacing of births or assisting couples to limit pregnancies when they reach their desired family size translates into healthier infants and mothers, and prevents maternal deaths,” said Daudi.

Daudi, however, said there are still challenges that need to be addressed including a decline in contraceptive use among married couples and shortage of trained medical and community health workers

“We need to find means to address these challenges as family planning is a key driver to health and economic progress for individuals, communities and nations. Our focus is to make sure that every pregnancy is planned and every delivery must be safe,” she said.