By Samira Larbie/Tracy Amankwa Peprah
Accra, Sept. 27, GNA-The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has urged stakeholders rendering family planning services to deliver key messages in a client-friendly manner.
Dr Kofi Issah, the Director, Family Health Division, GHS, said this would enable communities to forge stronger partnerships with service providers, development partners, and others to address factors contributing to the large unmet need for contraception.
He made the call at the National launch of 2023 Family Planning Week and high-level advocacy dialogue on domestic financing for family planning in Accra on Tuesday.
The launch, in commemoration of World Contraception Day, is on the theme, “Family Planning, My Choice, My Freedom. The annual week-long event seeks to increase public awareness, and acceptance of family planning, dispelling myths.
Dr Issah said the country had made progress in the total fertility rate and improving the lives of women and families such that within a quarter of a century, total births per woman reduced from 6.4 in 1988 to 4.2 in 2014 as reported in Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS)
According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, household size reduced from 4.4 in 2010 to 3.6 in 2021, indicating that a lot of progress had been made around family planning and other population strategies.
He said, however, there remained a large unmet need for contraception in the county, saying despite the almost universal knowledge in family planning, the practice of contraception remained low at 28 per cent of married women for modern methods with 23 per cent of sexually active adolescents, having an unmet need for family planning in 2022.
He informed that some socio-economic and cultural factors were mainly responsible for the low utilization of available maternal health services, including family planning services.
The fear of side effects, rumours, myths, and misconceptions were the most frequently cited reasons for the non-use of modern family planning methods.
Dr Issah said it was, therefore, important to create awareness to advocate increased commitment to family planning as an essential component of national health and socio-economic development.
Activities outlined for the weeklong celebration include media and stakeholder engagement, television and radio discussions, provision of free services at selected locations, health talks for organised groups, floats, and other community mobilization and awareness creation activities.
Dr Francis Kasolo, World Health Organisation Country Representative, said financing contraceptives and services continued to be a major challenge in middle and low-income countries.
This, if not addressed, could make 3.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) difficult to achieve. The target calls on countries to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including for family planning” by 2030.
He said domestic financial commitments, including those made as part of the Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) initiative, had not translated into increased spending on family planning.
He called for thoughtful planning for the country to transition from the current dependence on donors to domestic and sustainable funding for family planning
Mr Wilfred Ochan, the Country Representative, United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), noted that the attainment of women’s reproductive health rights hinged on their ability to realize, choose, and access available options.
He urged all partners to advocate for increased investment in public reproductive health since such investments would not only benefit the economy but also contribute positively to the global community.
Mr George Akanlu, Country Director, Marie Stopes International (MSI) Reproductive Choices, said there had been a significant increase in contraceptive adoption in Ghana, revealing a rise from 22 per cent in 2014 to 28 per cent in 2022.
Ms Naadu Awuradwoa Addico, Member, Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana, acknowledged the importance of contraceptive use and encouraged sexually active individuals to consider it.
GNA