Family planning crucial to achieving dev goals

Stakeholders in the health sector have identified family planning as crucial to achieving the country’s development goals.

According to them, Ghana’s current population profile showed that while 40 per cent of the 27 million people were under 15 years, majority of the working population were unemployed. 

At a forum on “The inclusion of family planning services in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS),” the stakeholders called for the inclusion of all family planning services in the NHIS.  

It was organised by the Muslim Family Counselling Services (MFCS) with support from the Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP). 

The stakeholders included the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health, Hope for Future Generations (HFFG) and Marie Stopes International. 

Population growth

They also observed that if nothing was done about Ghana’s population growth rate by it would 2050, had increase to 60 million; a situation which would lead to acute limited economic opportunities and poverty.

However, according to the Head of Reproductive Health, National Population Council (NPC), Ms Joyce Amedoe, if family planning was given the required attention, by 2050, Ghana’s population growth would be 40 million instead of the 60 million that the current trend showed.

She said currently, the country’s population was growing at a rate of 700,000 per year.This could  be reduced from the birth of  four children per woman to two if women were able to access family planning when they required it.

Ms Amedoe also said the government, together with the NPC and the Ghana Health Service (GHS), had developed the Ghana Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan as a comprehensive multi-sectorial strategy to reposition family planning programmes in the country.

Situation 

The Family Planning Programme Officer of the GHS, Mrs Claudette Diogo Attoh, in a presentation, said the unmet needs of family planning over the years had reduced from 36 per cent to 30 per cent.

She said the GHS had also made some recommendations to the MoH on which aspects of family planning services should be placed under the NHIS.

Ms.Attoh added that an inter-agency committee for contraceptive security had been formed since 2002 to improve on reproductive health in the country.

The committee, she said, was also working at ensuring that family planning was made a key strategy in the reduction of maternal mortality in the country.

The Executive Director of MFCS, Chief Imoro Baba Issa, said the meeting was aimed at increasing understanding of the situation, key challenges and opportunities with regard to family planning inclusion into the NHIS.

The Executive Director of CEDEP, Mr Charles Sakyi, said it was only commitment and collaboration by stakeholders that would ensure the realisation of their hopes.

Writer's email-rebecca.quaicoe-duho@graphic.com.gh