Promote the culture of Life #ProLife #NotProDeath #iamprolife

So apparently, this article was written by Obianuju Ekeocha and published on Punch Nigeria website, on the 15th of December, 2014…..Today it is 10th August, 2015. That’s approximately 8 months afterwards, I would expect this piece to have gone viral, I am beginning to wonder if the journalists, celebrities, and social media influencers, amongst others in Africa, are hibernating or they are more concerned with other matters. Same goes for anyone on planet earth who has come across any piece like this one and isn’t making this shit go viral. Not to mention the supposed government agencies and various organizations who are promoting this, or those that are forming indifferent, and we don’t know their stance, what am i saying? even they don’t know where they stand, until it strikes into their homes and families. I don’t want you to get bored with reading this long article, because it will be long, but you have to read to finish, lives are at stake here!! So let me summarize and press the article for you as simple as I can.

Pfizer Inc., the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) announced an agreement that will expand access to Pfizer’s injectable contraceptive, Sayana® Press (medroxyprogesterone acetate), for women most in need in 69 of the world’s poorest countries.

“Pfizer expanding access to contraceptive option”

 

Through this collaboration of organizations from the public and private sectors, Sayana® Press will be sold for US $1 per dose to qualified purchasers, who can help enable the poorest women in these countries to have access to the contraceptive at reduced or no cost. Some of the targeted countries named for this expansive contraception project include Burkina Faso, Kenya, Niger, Senegal, Uganda and my own country, Nigeria.

• What is Sayana® Press?? Sayana® Press combines a long-acting, reversible, contraceptive with an all-in-one prefilled, single-use, non-reusable Uniject™ injection system that eliminates the need to prepare a needle and syringe.

Uju – And what is more insidious is that this product being launched, is the self-injectable version of the highly controversial “Depo-Provera” that has been put into question in the developed world after having been shown in various studies to carry dangerous and even lethal side effects.

• What is Depo-Provera? Depo-Provera is a birth control method for women. It is made up of a hormone similar to progesterone and is given as an injection by a doctor into the woman’s arm or buttocks. Depo-Provera is 99% effective in preventing pregnancy. But, it does not prevent spreading of STDs.

DEPO-PROVERA

ADVANTAGES	DISADVANTAGES	SIDE-EFFECTS
You don’t have to remember to take it every day or use it before sex. It provides long-term protection as long as you get the shot every three months. It doesn’t interfere with sexual activity. It’s over 99% effective. It’s less expensive than birth control pills.	It does not provide protection against sexually transmitted diseases. It can cause irregular menstrual periods. You need to stop taking Depo-Provera several months ahead of time if you plan to become pregnant. Regular doctor visits can be inconvenient.	Irregular menstrual periods, or no periods at all Headaches Nervousness Depression Dizziness Acne Changes in appetite Weight gain Excessive growth of facial and body hair Hair loss Loss of bone mineral density.

 

This announcement was immediately picked and praised by many News Agencies in the western world including BBC News where it was described as “The One dollar contraceptive set to make family planning easier”.

Uju – One cannot help but wonder, “Easier” for whom? For Ugandan, Kenyan and Nigerian women? Or for the multi-billionaire Pfizer, Gates and CIFF?

Maria – I am beginning to wonder whose life it’s making easier myself.

Uju – All of it now seems to be actualized in this cheap contraceptive device targeted towards the poorest women in the world.

Maria – This poor women {mind you, young girls and women}, am guessing, are not likely to have adequate access to information, and are not educated enough to know if such drugs are good for them or not. They probably don’t even know what the internet is, let me assume they do, they most likely don’t know how to do basic research online or wont bother their heads worrying about drug side effects. After-all, our countries have a ministry of health and drug law enforcement agencies.

Uju – So by sheer determination and will, these wealthy figures – Pfizer, Gates & CIFF – have succeeded in rolling out in the world of the poor, the $1-per-piece device designed to become the prevalent self-injectable contraception of the developing world, the wonder device that will make it all so easy to sterilize millions of women across my continent. They claim that this would be the pathway to development as well as the emancipation and elevation of African women. They tell us that it will give African women control over their lives.

Maria – Error, trust me, you are bound to lose control of your life if you fall into this trap, you become addicted and of course that increases your susceptibility to the already damaging side effects). So where is the control??

Uju – But I dare to ask them exactly how sterilizing the wombs of the poorest women in the world would give them control over famine, drought, disease and poverty. It absolutely will not make women more educated, or more employable. This extensive contraception project will not give food or safe drinking water to women who submit to it. It will not make African women happier or more satisfied in their marriages. No. It will only make them sterile at the cheapest rate possible.

Maria – African women, please is this what you want? Y’all need to answer me o!!

In October 2011, the New York Times published an article titled “Contraceptive Use in Africa May Double Risk of HIV”. This article was based on a cohort study by the prestigious medical research journal, The Lancet, which clearly stated that “the risk of HIV-1 acquisition doubled with the use of hormonal contraception especially the injectable methods.”

And what is most shocking is that this study was partly sponsored by the Gates Foundation and yet after these findings, they have gone ahead to launch this high risk product in targeted countries of their choice (Uganda, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria and many others), countries where the women may never be able to raise their voices when the lethal effects set in.

Uju – “As a direct result of this, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a compulsory “black-box” warning on this product that reads: “Use of Depo-subQ Provera 104 or Depo Provera may cause you to lose calcium stored in your bones. The longer you use Depo Provera, the more calcium you are likely to lose. The calcium may not return completely once you stop using Depo Provera. Loss of calcium may cause weak bones that could increase the risk that your bones might break, especially after menopause.”

Maria – So i was looking for evidence to back up this last statement, and i came across these;

U.S reproductive health assistance procured 5,800,800 cycles of oral contraceptives for social marketing and 1,591,000 ampoules of Depo-Provera, 15,400 implants of Jadelle, and 24,000 intrauterine contraceptive devices for the public sector – valued at $2,036,000 – contributing to increased Zambian use of family planning.

Zambians, i hope you are not sleeping?? Look at this picture well, read the sentence just below the Pfizer logo. So a product that is not approved or available in the united states is brought to Africa and we are celebrating. Why the heck do we have ministries of health???

Uju – This product is flawed. It is dangerous. And from all indications it could be lethal. And in the developed countries, it has been marked as such. In spite of this glaring reality, that which has been deemed unsuitable and terribly flawed in the land of the rich, has now been brought in to the “land of the poor”.(In Quote). As an African woman, my heart is racing today as I consider this latest collaborative move by Pfizer, Gates Foundation and CIFF. I think about the full implications and ramifications of this on my people, my sisters, my aunties and my friends. I think about the poor women in Africa who will have no means at all of filing class-action lawsuits against these giants from the western world. I think about our sorely inadequate healthcare systems in Africa that is not in any way equipped to deal with the fallout or onslaught of the medical side effects like breast cancer, osteoporosis (bone density loss) as well as increased HIV infection rates, all associated with this contraceptive product. I cannot help but think about the thousands of African women who will die as a direct result of this $1 per piece product.

Who will speak up for the women of Africa? Who will lament the crass disregard for their well-being? Who will complain about the cruel disrespect with which they are being treated? Who will shed tears for the irreparable damage that could befall them?

Uju – I am only one African woman, but from where I stand I choose today to speak up, to lament, to complain and to shed silent tears for my fellow African women, with the hope that, my words and tears may reach and touch the hearts of people of goodwill around the world who will join me in defending the dignity of the African women.

Maria – I always tell people, no matter where you are from, what religion you practice or do not practice, what you eat, what you do, or the color of your skin, you are first “HUMAN” certainly not an ape or a chimpanzee or an elephant or a hippo!! So as a woman, am here thinking WTF!! My sister Uju, biko I will speak with you, this one don pass racism. Why on earth would a drug not approved in the United States be shipped out here??? Let me guess, the people doing this believe they are helping Africa? How on earth can you believe you are helping Africa with something that was not approved in your country?? I will give you reasons; it is either you are a thief out stealing lives, a greedy set of crass people, or just plain idiotas!!

Now to you my readers who find yourself using these dangerous pills and shots or any contraceptive at that, you are probably thinking, these writers wont understand, you probably have lots of reasons why you think it is okay to use contraceptives. Let me tell you, from personal experience, These contraceptives will totally destabilize your body system. If you don’t believe, just google for side effects, then pay more attention to your body system. However if you do believe, join me is spreading the Gospel of Pro Life(Culture of Life) as against the culture of death that is widespread today!!

I know some crass people will call these “innovation” FYI – Innovation should save and promote lives, not destroy it.

Let us promote and support the culture of Life as against the current culture of death ravaging the world we live in!! Let us resolve to preach the ABC of Pro-Life to at least one person daily.

• A – Abstinence
• B – Be Faithful
• C – Chastity

Join me on causes.com to take the pledge to be Pro-Life:Take the pledge..Be Pro-Life

– Obianuju Ekeocha is the Chairperson, Culture Of Life Africa, an NGO based in London.

SOURCES

Culture of Life Africa Organization

Culture of Life Africa Blog

http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/birth-control-depo-provera

ZAMBIA – U.S. FOREIGN ASSISTANCE PERFORMANCE PUBLICATION Fiscal Year 2009