Access counselling before using Family Planning methods

Mr Edmund Nellic Nyanwura, the Bolgatanga Municipal Health Director has urged families who are not ready to have babies to get counselling on the various family planning methods before choosing one.

The Director who made the call during an interview with Ghana News Agency was responding to the low patronage of family planning methods in the Bolgatanga Municipality.
He said people react differently to the various Family Planning methods hence the need to get information before choosing a suitable one.

According to him, the increasing incidents of unwanted pregnancies and teenage pregnancies which mostly resulted in unsafe abortions were worrying.

He, therefore, urged girls and young women who were not ready to make babies to go for a method that was convenient to them. “If you do not have to think of getting pregnant, then you will not be thinking of abortions”, He said.

He said because of the realities of HIV /AIDS, and the fact that its prevalence in the municipality was high, there was the need for people to change their perception and take prevention seriously.

He said Family Planning acceptance so far in the Bolgatanga Municipality was 39.8 per cent out of a target of 40 per cent.

According to him, in 2020, Family Planning patronage in the region was 33.3 per cent, and 38.7 per cent in 2019 while in 2018 the Municipality recorded 41 per cent, exceeding the national target of 40 per cent.

The Municipal Director said the 2021 achievement was encouraging and hoped that more efforts would be made to achieve the target by the end of the year.

He said his outfit was embarking on some measures to reduce unwanted and unplanned pregnancies of which included home visits and training of midwives who will be meeting with school girls who get pregnant, to discuss family planning methods.

He said the capacity of some health personnel had been boosted through training to help offer family planning counselling and services and programme during community durbars.

He said using such avenues to reduce teenage and unwanted pregnancies was useful on that score.