Child spacing reduces financial burdens in families says community leader

A community leader, Mr Bulaga Adam, says child spacing has helped in reducing the social and financial burdens in many families in Borno, especially in Gwange III and Yarwa communities.

Adam made this known at a periodic stakeholders’ and Social mobilisers’ review meetings held in Gwange III and Yarwa communities in Maiduguri, Borno on Thursday.

The programme was in collaboration with The Challenge Initiative (TCI) team, an NGO.

Adam said that with child spacing, low-income earning families no longer bother about paying house rents and other related bills due to inadequate resources.

He said that with child spacing household expenditures are drastically reduced, thereby increasing savings.

“With child spacing families whose children have attended the age of maturity have no fear of funding their marriages when the time comes.

“This is the same with those who want to organise naming ceremonies for their subsequent babies; there would have been enough money saved,” he said.

Adam added that the majority of the community members have realised that child spacing has improved their quality of life and well-being.

According to him, couples who have accepted child spacing in the communities are now more financially sound than those who are yet to embrace its advantage of reducing household’s financial burdens.

Also, Some residents of Gwange III and Yarwa communities also expressed happiness on how child spacing has helped in reducing the social and financial burdens of their families.

The residents said that the adoption of child spacing methods had dramatically reduced their financial burdens as they now cater for only a few children.

Malam Kachalla Hassan, a participant and a Ward Support Committee (WSC) Secretary, said his committee had been organising a periodic enlightenment campaign in the community on child spacing, especially during weddings.

Also speaking, a social mobiliser, Yagana Abba, emphasised the importance of child spacing and its advantages to babies and families.

Abba urged mothers to ensure they breastfeed their babies at least 12 times daily, saying that it helps in child spacing.

Bulama Hassan Kade, another community leader, said that there is a committee in place that mobilises other women for child spacing campaigns at weddings and naming ceremonies.

“The result is very impressive, because out of the 100, we had 90 per cent support from the community members, who are willing to accept child spacing,” Kade said.

Hajiya Aisha Goni, another social mobiliser, said women now have the support of their husbands as they both go to the hospitals for better understanding and advice on the best method to adopt for child spacing.

According to her, out of over 100 women, only a few now have challenges regarding the use of pills for child spacing.

“This is an indication that the pills can be safe as against earlier impression about it,” she said.

Aishatu Jatau, also a mobiliser, said that women have come to accept child spacing, as they now welcome them whenever they visit them at home, unlike before when they were uncooperative about the programme.

In his remarks, the TCI Manager in Borno, Dr Yusuf Amadu, who spoke on behalf of the organisation, and the Borno State Primary Healthcare Board, expressed happiness with the turnout of the participants

“We are highly impressed with the level of understanding you, the community members, have about child spacing.

“Though you are not medical professionals yet you have understood its importance,” he said.

Similarly, Mr Abdulrahaman Yahaya, the state Health Educator Officer, collaborated the increase in interest from families willing to be part of the child spacing programme.

Yahaya said that it was further proof of the efficiency of the mobilisers and healthcare providers in Gwange III.

At Yarwa, Shehuri-South, Yahaya, however, identified the lack of commodities at the health facilities as a major challenge.

He said the mobilisers usually mobilise more clients (nursing mothers) to the facilities in the communities, but that the commodities were not enough to meet the demand of the target audience – the clients.

NAN reports that the TCI had, through social mobilisation, increased the demand for and access to child spacing planning services in the state since 2023.

The group had, between January 2023 and March 2025, reached out to 239,641 people in eight Local Government Areas of the state on family planning methods and child spacing.