Not by chance, but by choice

By NJOKI KARUOYA

Even among those who practise the withdrawal method as a means of child spacing, there are those ‘oops’ moments. The disruption of a woman’s menses, especially when one is not ready for a(nother) child, can be disturbing to a family, even as they know that they are supposed to embrace God’s blessing.

According to the recently released State of the World Population (Swop) report jointly by UNFPA and the Ministry of Planning, National Development and Vision 2030, the ability to decide on the number and spacing of one’s children is taken for granted by many in the developed and those with means in developing countries. They can make decisions that affect their families and execute to the best of their abilities, as they have options.

The story is different with the poor and rural folk, who do not have as many options as the well-to-do. For these, even a simple condom can be difficult to come by for those who wish they could get their hands on the commodity; not only to plan their families but to also protect themselves against sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

Almost half of Kenya’s women do not have adequate access to family planning; and this has largely contributed to their inability to space their children, even when they desire to do so.

If many women had the power, they would switch off the button that produces eggs for fertilisation into babies, and switch that button back on when they were ready for more children.

But they can’t, and so many women find themselves in situations where they give birth year after year, sometimes to their ill health and ultimate death. This situation must be remedied if we are to stop losing precious lives.

When a woman dies from birth-related complications, the outcome is destabilising for the man she leaves behind with the children (if he is in her life), and for the children, who now have to live without their mother.

In hospitals around the country, the commodities are in short supply. Sometimes they are not available and those seeking them are asked to come back later (perhaps in a week or month), and by then it might be too late. The need for which the commodity was required then would go on unabated, and without the precious button to switch off, fertilisation would eventually occur and a birth would take place about ten months later, consequently adding to the one million births this country receives every year.

Gifts

Yes, children are gifts from God, and we all acknowledge that; but He who provides also requested us to take care of his planet/creation. How can we do that when we can no longer control our birth rate, take care of our offspring, and protect His environment?

With a burgeoning population, our farms are growing smaller, leading to family conflicts and related murders. Unexpected and unplanned children are being aborted needlessly and dangerously, leading to more deaths.

Others are being thrown in dumpsites and toilets.

With a burgeoning population, land and water resources are diminishing, and at dangerous levels. Trees, shrubs and other vegetation have been cut and forests decimated, leading to environmental catastrophes that have resulted in tribal conflicts and boundary warfare over the scarce resources — and more deaths have been the consequence.

Add unpredictable climate change to the mix, and we have governments that are so burdened that they can no longer afford to feed its people; and large segments of its population are neglected; forced to fend for themselves. Fuelled with anger at this desertion, such communities gradually develop resentment for other communities that seem to get the larger share of the government’s resources; and generations later, this can lead to conflicts...and more deaths.

This can be avoided if we just space our children to manageable levels. For this to happen, the Swop report recommends the following measures:

• Radically increase financial support and political commitment

• Promote family planning as a right.

• Integrate voluntary family planning into broader economic and social development.

• Eliminate economic, social, logistical and financial obstacles to voluntary family planning.

• Reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions by increasing availability, reliability and quality of family planning supplies and services.

• Make family planning programmes available to all.

• Engage men and boys in family planning, for their own benefit and to support females to use contraception.