Stories

"I decided to use this clinic because I heard a lot of success stories about it.   I trust their judgment that is why I am here.”   Taiwo Ogunfayo, a 33-year-old interior decorator, is a client at the Liberty Stadium Clinic – one of Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN) facilities in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital in South West Nigeria. “One day, I was in the market when I came across a PPFN outreach. The way the Community Health Extension Workers were explaining the different family planning methods was very simple to understand. “I have come across a lot of women since my first visit to this place and they all assured me that family planning works and it won't fail like a previous experience, but I didn't let that stop me from trying family planning again." Lack of adequate information is creating misinformation and wrong perceptions about family planning. She says that 'a lot of women have all sorts of beliefs about family planning, tied to religion and culture', hence the need for more PPFN community outreach services. "It was through the outreach service in my community that I found out about PPFN. The interesting thing about the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria project in Oyo state is that all the family planning methods are free if you can't afford to pay. There is no cost to the patient."   The team Read more about the team behind Nigeria's amazing success

Julie was a midwife with the Ministry of Health for 20 years before she joined the Vanuatu Family Health Association (VFHA) as nurse and project manager for IPPF's SPRINT Initiative response in Vanuatu. When Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu, the SPRINT Initiative and VHFA started providing life-saving services to the Island, Tanna, which was the population worst affected by the typhoon. Many communities there live remotely, in grass huts, with no immediate access to medical care.  Julie was there with the VFHA team. “When I first came here we used the kitchen to operate from. On my second trip, we created a clinic in our youth centre, and used the nearby health post for clinical procedures. Soon we saw more patients pouring in, which created a huge demand for space." Health conditions are very low. Even before the cyclone hit the island, it was reported that the average mother loses two pregnancies each, in her lifetime. Every person in the village knows at least one mother who has died during child birth. Access and knowledge to family planning is overlooked as traditional practices are used first. As Julie explains, advocating about family planning is a challenge in the area, also for language barriers. “Talking about birth-spacing and talking in the regional dialect of Tanna is a problem. Most of us in Vanuatu speak Bislama, but people here in Tanna aren’t well versed with it. However, we try our level best with all possible methods including sign language and demos to impart knowledge about family planning.” Family planning services are just a part of the IPPF-SPRINT Cyclone Pam response, that also included general health check-up, counselling and awareness about Sexual and Gender Based Violence, maternal care and awareness and prevention of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI).