The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has launched the Ghana Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan (GFPCIP) 2024 to 2030 in Accra? The plan is aimed at ensuring equitable and timely access to quality family planning information, commodities and services for all persons. It was formulated with the commitment to increase government's financial contribution to the procurement of family planning commodities, increase modern contraceptive prevalence rate among currently married women to 44.4 percent by 2030 and to reduce unmet need for contraceptive among sexually active adolescents from 57 to 30 percent by 2030. Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director General, GHS, said the country had made progress in total fertility rate and improved the lives of women and families through family planning services. He said: 'Within a quarter of a century, the total birth rate of a woman has reduced from 6.4 in 1988 to 4.2 in 2014, and currently 3.9 at the last GHS study in 2022. We have had an increase from 57 percent in 2014 to 60 percent of married women who have their demands satisfied for modern family planning.' Dr Kuma-Aboagye said with a marked decrease in unmet needs from 29 in 2014 to 23 in 2018, it calls for the need to make progress. He, however, expressed worry that despite the almost universal knowledge in family planning of 90 per cent, the practice of contraception remained low with 23 percent of sexually active people having an unmet need for family planning. He said a number of socio-economic and cultural factors were mainly responsible for the low utilisation of available maternal health and family planning services. He indicated that the fear of side effects, rumors, myths, and misconceptions were the most frequently cited reasons for non-use of modern family planning methods as well as poor attitude of health workers and service providers, adding that efforts were being made to address the situation. 'This is the second action plan after it was first launched in 2015 and ended in 2020. It was designed to help th e nation achieve its family planning goals in line with the Government of Ghana's FP2030 Commitment,' he stated.? Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the success of the action plan would depend on continuous and effective stakeholder collaboration and engagement to address the challenges and promote the desired results.? Dr Claudette Diogo, Programme Head, Family Planning Division GHS, said the current action plan was an improved version of the previous one with many lessons learnt and would ensure that all activities and interventions, were effectively coordinated in the quest to achieve the target She said: 'The plan takes into consideration the actual situation in the country and highlighted strategic priorities based on practical evidence from nationally representative data, which considers national and regional variations among other regions, districts and communities, as well as prioritises interventions that would have the greatest impact on modern contraceptive use,' she stated. Nana Osaberima Ansah Sasraku III, Mamfehene and Kyidomhene of the Akuapem Traditional Council, said family planning was a fundamental human right that enabled individuals, particularly women and couples, to make informed decisions about their reproductive health, spacing, and family size. He said as the country strived for economic growth and social progress, family planning emerged as a vital strategy to accelerate development, saying 'By providing access to modern contraceptives and education, we can significantly decrease maternal and infant mortality rates, which disproportionately affect developing nations.' Nana Sasraku III, said when families are able to space their children, they are better equipped to break the cycle of poverty, improve health outcomes, and contribute meaningfully to nation's development, hence a collective responsibility by all to dispel misconceptions, promote accurate information and ensure universal access to family planning services. 'Let us work together to integrate family planning into our national develop ment agenda, prioritizing education, awareness, and accessible services. By doing so, we will empower, develop, strengthen families, and propel our nation towards a brighter and more prosperous future,' he added. Source: Ghana News Agency