Media advocacy training instituted by Development communications (DEVCOMS) Network and The challenge initiative (TCI), hosted a group of media practitioners and journalists to a 3-day workshop on media advocacy for family planning in Kano state.

The workshop was aimed at highlighting the media’s role in enhancing advocacy for CBS in policy and action, strengthening the ability of the media to effectively disseminate CBS messages as well as build the capacity of journalists and reporters to serve as family planning and CBS advocates in the state.

Nigeria’s population continues to increase rapidly with no commensurate development in health care service delivery. With a current estimated population of 186 million and an annual growth rate of about 2.5%, Nigeria’s huge population, fuelled by high birth rate without good family planning, can be a huge burden with resultant poor health indices such as high maternal and infant deaths. Nigeria’s maternal and child deaths is one of the highest in the world.

Bayo Onanuga, Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria has urged journalists to explore other ways of enlightening Nigerians on the advantages of family planning.

He said this was necessary to address the misconceptions the public had about family planning.

Onanuga gave the advice in Abuja on Thursday when he received members of the Local Organising Committee of the 2016 National Family Planning Conference.

As part of our NOTAGAIN Campaign project aimed at ending maternal deaths in Nigeria, we embarked on field visit with journalists from Print, Radio and Television to enable them have hands-on information on the experiences of women and children at the grassroots.