Focus Family Planning Programmes On Men - Alabi

Accra, (Greater Accra) 3 Oct.,

Family planning activities and programmes should be focused on men rather than on women to encourage them to support their partners, particularly in decision making on family size. Mr Joshua Alabi, Greater Accra Regional Minister, said this today when he inaugurated the Greater Accra regional Population and Advisory Committee of the National Population Council (NPC) in Accra. The 20-member committee is drawn from all the implementing agencies of the NPC, government organizations and the office of the Regional Minister. Mr Alabi said population control is very important to the socio- economic development of a nation and stressed the need to empower women by providing the girl-child equal access to education and the adult girl economic emancipation. This, he said, would lead to a reduction in teenage pregnancy that has been a ''canker'' in the society. The implementation agencies of the NPC include the Regional Statistician, President of the Greater Accra House of Chiefs, Regional Population Officer, Chief Economic officer, Christian Council of Ghana, Muslim Family Counselling Services and the Ahmadiyya Mission. Dr Richard Turkson, Executive Director, NPC, who presided, appealed to the government for an extra budgetary allocation to enable the NPC to execute its responsibilities effectively and efficiently. He urged donor agencies to support the 24-month old Council with vehicles at regional and district levels to enable the staff to carry out their duties effectively. Dr Turkson called on the committee to claim ownership of whatever is in the region and district concerning reproductive health.