PPAG deliberates on sexual reproductive health
Reproductive health refers to diseases, disorders and conditions that affect the functioning of the male and female reproductive systems during all stages of life.
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Disorders of reproduction include birth weight, pre-term birth, reduced fertility, impotence and menstrual disorders.
Reproductive health issues have been identified as a cause of ill health and death among adolescents and women of childbearing age.
Women, especially those living in deprived areas, suffer exceedingly from unintended pregnancies, maternal death and disability, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, gender-based violence, and other problems which are related to their reproductive system and sexual behaviour.
Barriers
However, these problems have been attributed to some barriers that often confront women in their quest to access the needed information.
To address the sexual and reproductive health challenges confronting women, young people and other vulnerable groups, the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) has called for the institution of policies that will create an enabling environment to promote universal access to reproductive health services.
According to the Executive Director of PPAG, Dr Catherine Dawson-Amoah, partnership from stakeholders within the Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) community would enhance the process of addressing the sexual and reproductive health challenges facing women, which include lack of access to reproductive health education and cultural practices.
Annual General Meeting
Dr Dawson-Amoah was speaking at the 47th annual general meeting of the PPAG on the theme: “Building Strategic Partnership for Improved Sexual and Reproductive Health” in Accra on Friday.
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The meeting was held to review the activities of the association in the previous year and to plan for the future.
PPAG is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working in the field of sexual and reproduction health (SRH). The association works to complement the efforts of the government in providing health care and development for the nation.
Dr Dawson-Amoah said PPAG would continue to work in all the 10 regions and implement projects in all key strategic areas, which include adolescents, HIV/AIDS, advocacy and abortion.
SRH services
In pursuit of making SRH services more accessible, she said PPAG had implemented four projects, which are Ensuring Mothers and Babies’ Regular Access to Care (Project EMBRACE) in the Northern Region and Community- Based Contraceptive Services Project (CBCSP), which was implemented in the Kwahu East District.
The rest are adolescents and youth-related services established in Sunyani and the implementation of Comprehensive Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (CASRHR) in Accra, Sogakope, Mepe and Bomso.
Contributing to the reduction in unsafe abortions, Dr Dawson-Amoah explained that the association had carried out the second phase of the Global Comprehensive Abortion Care Initiative (GCACI).
She said the GCACI sought to provide a complete abortion care and family planning services.
She said activities of the GCAI was carried out in three clinics in Accra, Kumasi and Kparigu.
The executive director said the clinics recorded 1,631 cases of comprehensive abortion cares in 2013 as compared to 1,003 recorded in 2012.
However, she indicated that the total number of clients using contraceptives under this project increased from 29,757 in 2012 to 131,266 in 2013.
Supporting government
In her keynote address, a paediatrician of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Grace Gyimah Boateng, charged stakeholders to support government’s interventions in service delivery, especially those targeted at disadvantaged communities.
That, she said, would go beyond contraceptive security and the family planning package under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
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In spite of awareness creation and the efforts of governments, Dr Boateng noted that the country was still confronted with challenges in ensuring that reproductive health services were made available and accessible.
“It is for this reason that I call on all stakeholders to be committed to strengthening institutional partnerships, holding peer review meeting, developing and implementing programmes to develop SRHR agenda and beyond,” she added.