This year’s celebration, sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is aimed at ensuring that family planning services are made accessible to Ghanaian adolescents, men and women.

The Family Planning Week, which started on Tuesday, is a week-long programme to be celebrated across the country.

During the period, stakeholders would raise awareness and promote family planning as one of the most cost-effective interventions for improving maternal and child health and national development.

Speaking at the launch, the Director General of the GHS, Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, said family planning saved human lives, as it was a key intervention that played a major role in preventing unintended pregnancies to reduce maternal mortality, risk of pregnancy delivery and unsafe abortions in women.

“In communities where women are exposed to the family planning services, children and the entire families are healthier, and society at large also benefits,” he said.

He said, “the quality childcare constantly rises with regards to parents being able to invest more of their time, energy and money in bringing up small number of children.”

Dr Nsiah-Asare outlined a number of measures the GHS had initiated to reduce maternal mortality in Ghana.

Among the strategies, he mentioned, were family planning, skilled delivery and provision of emergency obstetric care and effective referral system.

Dr Nsiah-Asare urged the government to ensure that family planning and promotions became an integral part of the development agenda.

On his part, the Family Health Division Director of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma Aboagye, enumerated a number of challenges facing family planning services delivery in the country.

According him, poor provider attitude towards the young and sexually active and bias towards clients and some contraceptives were major hindrances to family planning service delivery.

He said assisting individuals of all ages to achieve their reproductive goals and improve their reproductive health was the goal of the family planning.

Evangel Kelvin Ainoo