The Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, has warned against the sale of contraceptives in public hospitals, saying any government hospital caught in the act will be sanctioned.
“We are distributing them free through the state government and we are monitoring the hospitals, so once it is a government hospital we have monitors,’’ the minister told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
“For any Nigerian who goes for family planning in a government institution, if they ask you to pay for them, report the situation because they are distributed free to hospitals and should be given free of charge,’’ Prof. Chukwu said.
He explained that family planning practices would reduce maternal and newborn deaths and diseases to a significant percentage, while the distribution of free contraceptives would also help in tackling unwanted pregnancies and abortion.
The minister noted that contraceptive use would also help in child-spacing, as well as to improve on the health of women and children.
NAN reports that the Federal Ministry of Health recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) on the procurement of contraceptives worth $3 million.
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