RUMONGE, November 8th (ABP) – Family planning in Rumonge province is a key aspect of improving public health and supporting the socio-economic development of the province in particular and the country in general.
According to the province’s governor, Léonard Niyonsaba, that initiative is being carried out in close collaboration between the local administration and the health sector. He explains that joint meetings are regularly organized at zone level to raise awareness of the importance of family planning as an essential tool for improving quality of life and enabling families to better manage their resources. That approach, he added, is part of the government’s vision to make Burundi an emerging country by 2040, and a developed one by 2060.
Despite the efforts made by the administration and the health sector to promote family planning in Rumonge, the contraceptive uptake rate remains low.
Dr Jean Ferdinand Girukwishaka, Medical Director of the Rumonge health province, stressed that the role of cultural and religious beliefs is particularly significant, because, he explained, they strongly influence people’s reproductive health decisions. Many people, he stressed, particularly in rural areas, consider family planning to be contrary to their traditions or faith.
Dr Girukwishaka stressed that more in-depth and better-targeted awareness campaigns are crucial to overcoming those obstacles. He strongly emphasized the importance of providing reliable information adapted to local realities to demystify contraceptives and demonstrate their benefits for both the health of mothers and children, and the economic well-being of families. He acknowledged that there was still a long way to go before widespread adoption, but felt that constant and sustained efforts could help achieve the development objectives of the Rumonge province in particular, and the country in general.
However, the Burundian Association for Family Welfare (ABUBEF) of the Rumonge branch is satisfied with the progress made in the adoption of contraceptive methods, as pointed out by Diane Ndayikeje, head of the vaccination service at the center.
In 2023, the center recorded 3,024 visits, including 23 men, and in 2024, up to November, 2,839 people visited, including 20 men. According to her, that represents continuous activity and a gradual adoption of contraceptive methods.
Ndayikeje attributed that success to the daily awareness-raising sessions organized for visitors prior to the center’s main activities. Those sessions are also conducted in schools, she added, contributing to better sex education.
The inhabitants of Mutambara village, in particular those of village III, who were relocated due to rising waters in the communes bordering Lake Tanganyika, seem to have understood the benefits of birth control, given the difficult living conditions they endure.
Niyonkuru Odette, a 39-year-old mother of four, said she had opted for contraceptive methods, underlining that that decision had brought her many benefits, particularly in terms of health and family savings.
From a health point of view, she pointed out that contraceptives enabled her to space her pregnancies more effectively, thus reducing the risk of complications.
On the economic front, Niyonkuru said that contraceptives had enabled her to better manage her family’s resources because, as she pointed out, she didn’t have to bear the additional costs of unplanned children. In her opinion, contraception has greatly contributed to balance in her life, offering her the opportunity to better organize her family and personal priorities. As a result, she has advised others of childbearing age to use contraceptives, while lamenting that today’s living conditions are very different from those of yesteryear.
Kantabaze Richard and Nizigiyimana Jean Pierre, two men living on the same hill, see no need to adopt modern contraceptive methods, contenting themselves with the use of condoms as a solution. They feel that condoms, as a method of contraception and protection against sexually transmitted infections, meet their needs.
Ndereyimana Ignace is a local community health worker. He revealed that comparing households with a small number of children with those with a large offspring makes it easier to raise awareness of family planning, by exposing concrete examples around them that show the benefits of a smaller family.
However, Ndereyimana is concerned that some people remain skeptical or opposed to the use of contraceptives, due to persistent rumors that those methods may be responsible for tumors, or because of religious beliefs that forbid contraception. We believe that those obstacles call for a more in-depth, personalized approach to dispelling myths and explaining the benefits of contraceptive methods, while respecting local cultural and religious convictions.
ABP/Denis NTIHINDAGIZWA