By Dennis Peprah
Sunyani, Dec 1, GNA – Health service providers have been urged not to deny adolescents who opt for Family Planning services to stem the rising teenage and unintended pregnancies in the country.
They must, however, counsel them on their choice of family planning (FP) options before providing them with the services.
Dr Prince Quarshie, the Deputy Director, Public Health, Bono Regional Directorate of Health, who gave the advice, reminded the health workers that continuous skilled abortion should not be an option in providing FP services.
He gave the advice at a stakeholders engagement on the dissemination of the National FP2030 commitment and the launch of the Family Planning Day at Sunyani on Thursday.
It was organized by the Bono Regional Directorate of Health with support from its partners in Sunyani, attended by transport unions, traders associations, disability groups, health workers, and traditional authorities.
It was to sensitize participants on the FP 2030 commitment, which enjoins the country to achieve about 100 percent FP acceptor rate by 2030.
Dr Quarshie expressed worry over the region’s low FP acceptor rate and said though it had achieved almost 100 percent in public knowledge, the FP practices kept declining from 42.2 percent in 2021 to 30.2 percent in 2022 and 27.2 percent in 2023.
Nonetheless the acceptor rates in some of the districts and municipalities in the region were encouraging.
He emphasized that every individual or couple, including teenagers, were eligible for FP services adding that the National Health Insurance Scheme covered such services.
Dr Quarshie said the combine pills, secure, injectables, spermicides, intra ulterior contraceptive devices, and implants were all safe and effective methods to reduce family sizes and prevent pregnancies.
“Injectables and implants do not make women infertile. Neither does it cause fibroid, cancers and pelvic infections. In fact, female sterilization does not affect the woman’s menstrual cycle,” he stated.
Vasectomy, he noted, was not castration, and did not change men’s libido, however it did not prevent sexually transmitted infections and diseases.
On the trend in fertility rate, Dr Quarshie said Ghana’s figures had decreased from 6.6 percent in 1989 to 3.9 percent in 2023, an indication that a couple’s birth rate had declined from between six and seven children to between one and three children.
He said 15 percent of teenagers between 15 and 19 years had been pregnant, 11 percent had had live birth, four percent had had pregnancy loss, and two percent currently pregnant.
Ghana’s teenage pregnancy rate stands at 15 percent with rural communities recording higher cases than urban communities.
Mrs Rita Ansong, the Bono Regional Public Health Nurse, said the 2007 FP protocol had been revised to align with current global standards and trends.
The protocols now include other contraceptives and services for persons with disability.
Mrs Ansong said the enhanced version of the protocol served as guidance and reference and advised health workers to adhere to the protocols in providing FP services to the public.
GNA