Men from Giasaiga sub location have been challenged to embrace family planning methods to avoid giving birth to many children who they cannot afford to bring up, leading to high child mortality rate among children under the age of five.
Giasaiga Assistant Chief James Mogo has warned men from the area against clinging to outdated cultural beliefs which give preference to the boy-child, leading majority of the area residents giving birth to several children in the search of a boy-child who is believed to be a future inheritor and protector of his father's land and property.
Speaking at Kenyoro Health Centre during a public Baraza, Mr Mogo blamed outdated cultural beliefs against family planning for contributing to giving birth to several children among many parents in the area.
Mr Mogo reminded men from the area that they have a responsibility to ensure their wives give birth to healthy and manageable children in order to reduce child mortality-related deaths.
The administrator lamented that retrogressive myths and misconceptions among men about family planning services had contributed to uncontrolled birth rate.
"I am challenging men from this sub-location to ensure they look at family planning positively and shun negative mindset about family planning which is a government policy to ensure families have manageable number of children whom they can afford to take care of," he said.
Oduor said times have changed and clinging to outdated cultural beliefs that one has to give birth to several children so that if some died he will have others to inherit his land and property.
"I am reminding local community members that family planning is development policy issue meant to control the country's population growth rate and ensure available resources are utilised productively for the benefit of the country's citizens," he said.