News
FIRST EVER FAMILY PLANNING WEEK CELEBRATION IN GHANA
As part of the 7 Billion Campaign activities, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the National Population Council (NPC) with their development partners such as UNFPA, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UK Department for International Development (DFID), African Women's Development Fund, Marie Stopes International, Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), Ghana AIDS Commission (GHC) and Bayer Scheering launched the first ever Family planning week. The launch coincided with World Contraception Day and the theme was "Contraception: Your Right to Accurate Information" . The launch was performed by the First Lady of the Republic of Ghana- Mrs. Ernestina Naadu Mills and the aim was to increase public awareness and acceptance of family planning and to advocate increased commitment to Family Planning as an essential component of national health and socio-economic development.
Dr Frank Nyonator, Acting Director-General of Ghana Health Service said to improve maternal health and attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Family Planning would remain a priority on the national development plan.
Dr. Stephen Kwakye, the Executive Director of National Population Council said Ghanaians need to disabuse their minds on the misconceptions about family planning and seek accurate information and services from the right sources and providers. He said this way, the country will assist in freeing scarce resources at both the national and individual levels for the qualitative development of the human population.
The UNFPA Country Representative Dr Bernard Coquelin said "Contraceptives" if well utilized could reduce maternal mortality by one-third but there was the evidence that Ghana's contraceptive prevalence rate had declined from 19 per cent in 2003 to 17 per cent in 2008 while the unmet need for FP was 34 per cent. He urged stakeholders to find suitable ways of generating resources to procure contraceptives, adding "By this we will be contributing meaningfully to reducing maternal mortality and achieving economic gains as we gain four dollars on every dollar spent on contraceptives".
As part of the 7 Billion Campaign activities, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the National Population Council (NPC) with their development partners such as UNFPA, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UK Department for International Development (DFID), African Women's Development Fund, Marie Stopes International, Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), Ghana AIDS Commission (GHC) and Bayer Scheering launched the first ever Family planning week. The launch coincided with World Contraception Day and the theme was "Contraception: Your Right to Accurate Information" . The launch was performed by the First Lady of the Republic of Ghana- Mrs. Ernestina Naadu Mills and the aim was to increase public awareness and acceptance of family planning and to advocate increased commitment to Family Planning as an essential component of national health and socio-economic development.
Dr Frank Nyonator, Acting Director-General of Ghana Health Service said to improve maternal health and attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Family Planning would remain a priority on the national development plan.
Dr. Stephen Kwakye, the Executive Director of National Population Council said Ghanaians need to disabuse their minds on the misconceptions about family planning and seek accurate information and services from the right sources and providers. He said this way, the country will assist in freeing scarce resources at both the national and individual levels for the qualitative development of the human population.
The UNFPA Country Representative Dr Bernard Coquelin said "Contraceptives" if well utilized could reduce maternal mortality by one-third but there was the evidence that Ghana's contraceptive prevalence rate had declined from 19 per cent in 2003 to 17 per cent in 2008 while the unmet need for FP was 34 per cent. He urged stakeholders to find suitable ways of generating resources to procure contraceptives, adding "By this we will be contributing meaningfully to reducing maternal mortality and achieving economic gains as we gain four dollars on every dollar spent on contraceptives".
