Odinaka Nwokpuru

Odinaka Nwokpuru

I now have peace in my family and I have been healthier since I had an implant.
– Odinaka Nwokpuru

Odinaka Nwokpuru had given birth six times by the age of 25. She couldn’t bear to have more children.
But this wasn’t something she could discuss with her husband. Here in the southeastern region of Nigeria, fewer than two of 10 women use family planning methods and women of childbearing age give birth to an average of five children. And, because of long-held cultural norms, her husband did not believe his wife should use modern contraception.
Still, Odinaka attended a meeting in her village of Ugbodo, sponsored by CCP’s HC3 project. There, she learned about the health benefits of adopting a family planning method, among other things. Armed with this new information – and despite knowing how her husband felt about family planning – she still went ahead and began using a long-acting contraceptive implant. Without telling him.
When her husband found out, he kicked Odinaka out of their home.
When health workers from HC3 found out what happened, they reached out to Odinaka’s husband, a leader in the community. They explained to him the immense benefits of using family planning and the health effects of having too many children in a short period of time.
The outreach worked and Odinaka has returned home. Her husband has even become an advocate of family planning in the village.
“I now have peace in my family and I have been healthier since I had an implant,” she says. “I am grateful to HC3.”