'React to negative comments on family planning'

Dr Koma Jehu-Appiah, the Executive Director of Ipas, a Sexual Reproductive Health Organisation, has urged stakeholders to react to negative comments about family planning to reduce perceptions that hinder its success.

According to Dr Jehu-Appiah, Family Planning was not unbiblical as some want people to believe, however it is a tool to reduce maternal death, and achieve well planned families through child spacing for national development.

That, Dr Jehu Appiah, noted was an issue that needed to be explained well and called on all stakeholders working in the area of women, adolescent and reproductive health to ‘pull the antennae high to reach out to all sections of the public.’

Dr Jehu-Appiah made the remarks at a Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) strategic validation meeting in Accra.

He stated that family planning was a tool to improve upon women and girls reproductive health rights through information and access to services.

He, commending the PPAG for its campaign on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), called for concerted efforts from all stakeholders to reach out to the many young girls and women, who still suffered needless complications and death from reproductive health.

The country representative of UNAIDS, Dr Gilmay Haille, commended the PPAG and all other stakeholders focusing on reproductive and health services to women, the youth and vulnerable, and urged them to strengthen their approach.

He noted that with their support, the HIV new infections rate had dropped to five each day, and mentioned the influx of fake condoms in the country as an issue which needed attention.

Dr Joseph Amuzu, the Executive Director, PPAG, indicated that the new Strategic plan would guide the operations of the PPAG from 2015 for the next four years and it would address strengths, weaknesses and challenges in the previous plan.

He said the PPAG would continue to lay emphasis on social inclusions such as gender, age, adolescent, youth and vulnerable groups in society.

Dr Amuzu commended volunteers of the PPAG for their commitment and unflinching support over the years, saying that has helped the PPAG to achieve its objectives and sustained its interest and responsibility towards the sexual reproductive health of the youth.