BUJUMBURA, November 24th (ABP) – The Burundian first lady and chairperson of the Office of First Ladies for Development in Burundi (OPDD), Mrs. Angeline Ndayishimiye, invites women leaders to take the lead in national family planning policy.
She said this on Monday November 20, 2023 in Bujumbura, during a workshop for the restitution of the clauses of the High Level Forum of Women Leaders, organized from October 9 to 11 of this year, by the first lady of the Republic of Burundi. The said workshop was attended by women leaders from the provinces of Bubanza, Cibitoke, Bujumbura and the Bujumbura city council.
In her speech, Mrs. Ndayishimiye indicated that population growth is a reality in Burundi. She added that demographic pressure constitutes an obstacle to the development of the family in a particular way and of the country in general.
Rapid population growth also poses a very serious threat to the environment and security. It is for that reason that the first lady invited the women leaders present in that workshop to schedule their births with the aim of giving birth to children that they can take care of but also to raise awareness among other women about engaging in family planning.
At the same time, Mrs. Ndayishimiye calls on husbands to invest a lot in family planning because, she estimated, when men invest in it, their wives easily adhere to it.
However, First Lady Ndayishimiye takes issue with the practices of certain so-called youth-friendly centers which encourage young girls of school age to use contraceptive methods instead of educating them about abstinence.
In that regard, the First Lady of the Republic of Burundi questions the future of such girls who forget that apart from unwanted pregnancy, there are other high-risk dangers such as sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS, without forgetting sterility.
For his part, Dr. Ananie Ndacayisaba, director of the national reproductive health program (PNSR), noted that 30% of women want to use contraceptive methods to limit births but are no longer able to do so due to several constraints.
Here, he mentioned the age of a woman, the sex of the children already given birth, the region, the residence, the level of education of the girl, the socio-economic status of the family, the number of children wanted by the man, the death of children in the family, etc., which constitute the main predisposing factors to unmet need for family planning.
The women leaders, who participated in that workshop, greatly appreciated the initiative of the first lady which consists of concentrating her efforts on the health of the mother and child but also and above all on the well-being of the people of Burundi in general.
They noted that such initiatives constitute a cornerstone of the vision of Burundi, an emerging country in 2040 and a developed country in 2060. That is why they committed to taking ownership of the conclusions of the 4th edition of the high-level Forum of women leaders while raising awareness among other women to align themselves with the initiatives of the Burundian first lady.