Group photograph of partners and stakeholders at the launch of the 2023 National Family Planning Week.
The Government of Ghana in partnership with UNFPA and other stakeholders have launched the 2023 Family Planning Week and High-Level Advocacy Dialogue on Domestic Financing for Family Planning, in Accra, Ghana. The event was held in commemoration of the 2023 World Contraception Day, with the aim of identifying more options to increase domestic financing for family planning under the theme: "Family Planning: My Choice, My Freedom."
In his remarks, the UNFPA Representative, Dr. Wilfred Ochan, noted that empowering individuals to make decisions and informed choices is key. ‘Having choices and the freedom to exercise the rights to choose when, how and the spacing of births is vital for the realization of a world where every pregnancy is wanted and every childbirth is safe’, he echoed.
Statements were also read on behalf of Civil Society partners and members of the Inter-agency Coordinating Committee on Contraceptive Security (ICC/CS), which highlighted family planning as being essentially a matter of choice, freedom and the exercise of fundamental human rights. George Akanlu, Country Director for MSI Reproductive Choices, affirmed that availability and accessibility to voluntary family planning is critical to avoiding unwanted pregnancy.
In launching the 2023 World Contraception Day and Family Planning Week, the Director of the Family Health Division of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Kofi Issah, emphasized the importance of increasing advocacy by all stakeholders in promoting family planning. “We seek to increase public awareness, acceptance of family planning, dispel myths and misconceptions and to advocate increased commitment to family planning as an essential component of national health and socio-economic development”, he stated.
Director of the Family Health Division of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Kofi Issah making remarks at the launch of the National Family Planning Week.
The message of committing to collaborate to ensure effective financing and implementation of family planning programs in the country came strongly in the panel discussion, where stakeholders in Government, the private sector, and development partners called for increased collaboration and commitment to increasing family planning access through increased funding.
UNFPA Deputy Representative (far right), Emmily Naphambo, moderating a panel discussion on sustainable domestic financing for family planning in Ghana with representatives from Government, Development Partners and the private sector: the National Population Council (NPC), National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Ministry of Finance, the World Bank and Kripa Pharma/Mylan.
The launch marked a significant milestone in Ghana's efforts to improve access to family planning services through increased domestic financing. The event generated momentum which stakeholders expect to help drive progress towards achieving universal access to family planning services in Ghana.
Present at the event were representatives from stakeholders including the Ghana Health Service, the National Population Council, USAID, Society for Family Health, the Naa Adole Foundation, and the media, among others.
