Abortion not a family planning method—Health Director

The Deputy Director of Public Health at the Central Regional Health Directorate, Dr John Bertson Eleeza, has emphatically stated that unsafe abortions being used as ways of controlling birth was very dangerous and have therefore called for immediate stop of the practice.
According to the deputy health director, most people are not aware of other means of controlling birth apart from unsafe abortion, calling for effective sensitisation to reverse the trend.
Dr Eleeza disclosed that most recorded maternal mortality cases were mainly due to unsafe abortions.
He said this at a media briefing and pre-launching of family planning campaign for media personnel in Cape Coast on Monday, July 19th, 2010.
The briefing was to educate the media to disseminate the information to the public to space out and control their births.
Dr Eleeza noted that family planning was not an attempt to stop people from giving birth as being speculated but rather to help space child bearing for a healthy life as well as help address fertility problems in women.
He underscored the crucial role family planning plays in the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) hence its revitalization to stimulate behavioural change.
He stated that contraceptives and family planning methods are not meant for married couple only but for all sexually active people and urged the public not to shy away from buying contraceptives especially the condom.
The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa Doe noted that over population was a negativity government was battling with to reduce poverty and urged all Ghanaians to support the programme to make it a success.
She called on people in the region to have a behavioural change with regards to their sexual behaviours and child bearing in order to transform the fortunes of the region.
The Senior Nursing Officer at the Regional Health Directorate, Madam Elizabeth Adjoa Wood indicated that the main aim of family planning is to assist couples and individuals of all ages to achieve their reproductive goals and improve their general reproductive health.
She stated that family planning reduces the number of unwanted pregnancies, decrease the total exposure to the risk of pregnancy and decrease the number of unsafe abortions.
She pointed out that Ghana has been a leader in family planning in Africa since 1969 and that it was time Ghana takes back the national and international leadership role in family planning for the well-being of its citizens and the development of the nation.
She mentioned some of the challenges facing the concept as persistent number of women who do not want to have children but are not using any method, rumours, myths and misconceptions about contraceptives and contraceptive security issues.
Madam Wood therefore called for the need for government to increase funding and support contraceptive commodities and services as well as effective media support to make it a success.
She also stated condoms for male and female, spermicides, oral contraceptives pills, injectable, amenorrhoea method as some of the short term family planning methods and intra uterine device, implants and natural family planning method as the long term methods. She also stated the tubal ligation and vasectomy as the permanent or irreversible methods being implemented in the country.
The programme was a partnership between the Ghana Health Service and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with technical support from the Johns Hopkins University Centre for Communication Programmes.