UNFPA Country Rep a.i., Mr. Barnabas Yisa making remarks at the launch of the 2022 Family Planning Week

Every year on 26 September, Governments, the United Nations (UN), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) celebrate World Contraception Day to bring to the light the importance of Family Planning for improvement in the health and well-being of people, as well as for national development.

According to UN projections, the world population is expected to be 8 billion by November 2022. With this figure remains the need for issues of gender inequality, income inequality, gaps in quality education, food insecurity, inequitable distribution of national resources, among others to be addressed.

At the launch of this year’s National Family Planning Week celebration and the commemoration of World Contraception Day, the acting Country Representative of UNFPA Ghana, Mr. Barnabas Yisa called on partners to work together to bust myths and misconceptions around Family Planning while improving access to reliable family planning information.

Mr. Yisa noted that, although Ghana has made progress in the use of contraceptives since 1988, the usage rate of modern contraceptives remains at an annual low of 1%. ‘Family Planning counselling should also be improved to comprehensively address concerns around it expressed by clients’, he added.

This year’s World Contraception Day and observation of the Family Planning Week is under the theme: “Breaking Myths and Misconceptions on Family Planning.” The launch event also coincided with the unveiling of the 'Atoua' TV series by the Ghana Health Service which will be used for providing education and information about family planning to dispel myths and misconceptions.

A cross-section of participants at the launch event.