Kumasi, Nov. 11, GNA – Ghanaian journalists have been encouraged to put premium on Sexual Rights and Reproductive Health (SRRH) in their reportage.
Mr Archibald Adams, Communications and Advocacy Coordinator, Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), said it was the responsibility of the media to whip up enthusiasm on those issues.
This, according to him, would help the people to make informed decisions relating to family planning, sexual relationships, reproductive health support services, unwanted pregnancies and others.
Mr. Adams, who was addressing the closing session of a two-day training workshop on reproductive health for selected journalists in the Ashanti Region, said Ghana ought to work hard in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Three and Five.
The two goals seek to address all major health priorities, including reproductive, maternal and child health, and gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
The programme, organized by the PPAG treated topics; encompassing pregnancy and child-bearing (maternal health), family planning, HIV/AIDS and other STIs, safe abortion, adolescent reproductive health and teenage pregnancy.
It also sought to equip the participants with the requisite information and statistics on SRRH, to help improve on their reportage.
According to the Ghana Health Service (GHS), the country’s current maternal mortality rate stands at 310 per 100, 000 live births.
Mr Adams hinted that an estimated 23 per cent of all pregnancies in Ghana in 2017 ended in abortion, adding that an equivalent of over 327, 600 abortions were recorded in the country annually.
About 58, 000 legal abortions were performed in health facilities in Ghana in 2017, he said, adding that district hospitals provided 35 per cent of legal abortions, 25 per cent in Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) facilities and 15 per cent in health centres.
According to the PPAG Communications and Advocacy Coordinator, the nation should improve SRRH support services for the benefit of the citizenry.
He said the target was that by 2030, the country would ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including; family planning, information and education and integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes.
GNA