BEYOND TABOOS:
FETHIA’S COURAGEOUS COMMITMENT TO BETTER FAMILY PLANNING IN THE SOMALI REGION.
By Yonatan Tamiru, Specialist II, Communication, PSI Ethiopia
In the past, discussions about family planning and sexual health in the Somali region of Ethiopia were fraught with deep-rooted cultural taboos. These taboos made addressing these issues in families or communities almost impossible.
This silence is reflected in the national data, which shows that the Somali region of Ethiopia has the lowest family planning rate. According to the 2019 Ethiopia Mini Demographic and Health Survey (2019 EMDHS), the family planning rate in the Somali region is only 2%, compared to 34% in the Amhara region and 43% in Oromia. Even in the pastoralist region of Afar, which has similar conditions to Somali, the penetration is higher at 12%.
Nevertheless, a change is underway. “Just a few years ago, it was almost forbidden to talk about family planning for married women in our region due to various social and cultural norms. Women were expected to have a child as soon as they got married, regardless of whether they were ready,” explains Fethia Mohammad, the Maternal and Child Health Head at Ararso Woreda Health Center.
Ararso is one of the woredas involved in the Federal Ministry of Health’s Road Map to Integrate Smart Start (RISE) initiative to expand the Smart Start Family Circle approach in the pastoralist region. Thanks to the commitment of health workers like Fethia, this innovative, community-centered approach is beginning to transform family planning counseling and services in the woreda.
“I hope to see a change in my community. I feel the pain that women go through because they don’t have access to family planning,” says Fethia.
She recounts the beginnings of the Family Circle initiative, which focuses on changing perceptions in the community and increasing the utilization of family planning and related reproductive health services. Three months into their efforts, Fethia and her team trained religious and community leaders, who then visited households to educate the community, especially young married girls. Despite the short time that has elapsed since the launch of Smart Start, Fethia is already seeing positive results.
The Family Circle approach is helping to break down the community’s negative perception of family planning. “I’m no longer fighting these prevailing beliefs alone. Thanks to the Smart Start Family Circle approach, traditional birth attendants and community elders now play a central role in easing local concerns,” explains Fethia.
The Federal Ministry of Health’s intervention through the RISE Program, using the Family Circle approach specifically designed for the pastoral context, is now shifting the narrative around family planning use and sexual and reproductive health in the region.
