First Person: Planned Parenthood Federation of America International

In August 2008, Rhonda Schlangen, Senior Research and Evaluation Manager for Planned Parenthood Federation of America International (PPFAI) visited the organization's projects in Kenya and Nigeria. Drawing on nearly 100 years of experience working in the U.S. and more than 30 years worldwide, PPFAI works in 17 countries throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America to ensure access to health care, fight for reproductive rights, and improve women’s lives.

Following is an entry from Rhonda’s travel diary after journeying to the far northeast region of Nigeria, where she met a courageous doctor that PPFA International supports.

MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA—We arrive after leaving the capital city, Abuja, in an utter downpour. In contrast Maiduguri is stiflingly hot and dry, located on the edge of a desert. Our colleague Salihu, Planned Parenthood program officer for Nigeria, picks us up at the airport and whisks us away. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation, dealing with a slew of grave problems like widespread poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Accessing health care is also a struggle here, with only one doctor for every 3,000 people.

We travel out of the city for an hour or so along a bumpy, dusty road until we reach Damaturu, a trading town where we are supporting a local health clinic, a branch of the Borno Medical Center.

Photo: Rhonda Schlangen/PPFAI Dr. Ben (center) with clinic and PPFA International staff outside Maiduguri.

This clinic is a lifeline for the community here, since there are virtually no other safe options for accessing healthcare, and it provides a range of critical services, including those that prevent death during pregnancy and delivery.

Although there’s a government hospital nearby, women in the community say the services are sub-par and the hygiene so poor that they are afraid to go there. I soon realize that some of the only allies women in the community have are working in this clinic, making sure they and their families are cared for. A safe facility where women’s health is a priority is rare in this region.

We meet Dr. Ben, a bright young doctor—one of two doctors on staff here—who quickly becomes our hero. He, along with just a few other providers, is struggling to meet the community’s needs with very little and is entirely committed to women’s health and rights.

With Planned Parenthood’s support, Dr. Ben tells us, the clinic’s operating room has been revamped. Yet it’s still far from luxurious, so I shudder to think what conditions Dr. Ben was working in before. There is no anesthesia or oxygen for patients, only the most bare-bones supplies, and a loud diesel generator keeps the power going. If an emergency arises at the clinic, Dr. Ben tells us he is forced to make the tough decision of whether to refer the woman to a larger clinic an hour away, or try his best to handle it with the means he has. His eyes well up and it’s clear to me he has stories too devastating to tell.

Dr. Ben and this clinic are absolutely critical, as is the support Planned Parenthood is providing, which is enabling the improvement of the clinic and the expansion of services, all in order to keep women’s health and rights a priority here, even if others will not. It feels good to see the amazing work that Dr. Ben is doing, but I realize there is so much more to be done to support him and the women in this community, and that’s tough to see.

As we leave the clinic and head back toward Maiduguri, Dr. Ben flashes a bright smile. Despite the hardships he faces as a provider and as a community member here, his determination to protect women’s health and rights is rock solid and I’m proud that we are supporting that.