World Contraception Day is marked every year on September 26. The day is set aside to promote awareness of contraceptive methods and to enable young people make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health.

As part of the activities marking the Family Planning Week, UNFPA Ghana, Ghana Health Service and Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFDO) organised a Sexual Reproductive Health & Family Planning outreach to Persons with Disability (PWDs) in Accra. Presentations on varied methods of contraception were provided with health screening, counselling and testing services. The outreach was under the theme, “Family Planning Everyone’s Responsibility”

Ludivine Dede Addy, a young person and a person with physical disability, remarked in a brief interview with UNFPA Ghana that indeed “Family Planning is for everybody”. “It is good for married couples because then they will freely decide on the number of children they want to have. I also think this presentation can help young people to be careful in relationships and to avoid irresponsible sexual behaviours that may result in teenage pregnancy or contracting STIs", she said.

Daniel Amuzu, a member of the Association of Persons with Albinism, was happy about the outreach saying “It is not everyone who devotes their time to explain matters of reproductive health to you, particularly if you live with disability. Through this programme, we have learnt to be careful about the kind of relationships and sexual relations to engage in”, he maintained.

The categories of PWDs who attended included the visually impaired, hearing impaired, persons with albinism, persons with physical disability and persons with autism. The Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFDOs) were grateful to the UNFPA and Ghana Health Service for the outreach and called for more of such events to be organised in the communities.