Ghana risks losing progress made in family planning (FP) if sustainable financing mechanisms are not secured to guarantee the continuous availability of contraceptives and other FP commodities.
The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, said recent disruptions in external funding underscored the urgent need for stronger domestic investment to protect contraceptive supply and safeguard gains made in reproductive health.
He made the call in a speech delivered on his behalf at the launch of the 2025 National Family Planning Week in Accra yesterday.
This year’s FP Week, which runs from September 26 to October 3, is on the theme: “Empowering Choices, Strengthening Families, for Ghana’s Future.”
The week-long campaign highlights the importance of family planning in promoting public health, reducing poverty, and driving sustainable development.
“Ghana must strengthen its own systems and financing mechanisms to ensure that her family planning programme is never again left vulnerable,” Dr Akoriyea stressed.
He explained that FP went beyond access to contraceptives, as it empowered individuals and families to make informed reproductive health decisions.
It also required addressing the needs of adolescents, women in rural areas, people with disabilities, and other marginalised groups by breaking cultural barriers and ensuring rights-based, inclusive services.
While acknowledging progress made through improved access to modern methods, sound policies, and the dedication of health workers, he also commended development partners such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) for their continued support.
Dr Akoriyea reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to achieving its FP2030 and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets, maintaining that FP services ought to remain inclusive and accessible to all, especially vulnerable groups.
The Director of the Family Health Division of the GHS, Dr Kennedy Brightson, emphasized that family planning remained a key development strategy, as it reduced maternal and child mortality, empowered women, enhanced educational opportunities, and accelerated progress toward the SDGs.
Citing recent data, he said the 2022 Demographic and Health Survey placed Ghana’s modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (mCPR) at 28 per cent with an unmet need of about 30 per cent.
Updated figures put the mCPR at 29.2 per cent, unmet need at 23.5 per cent, and demand satisfied with modern methods at 51.4 per cent.
Dr Brightson expressed concern about recent cuts in aid, especially from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which had historically procured about 45 per cent of Ghana’s contraceptives.
Currently, UNFPA supplies about 40 per cent, WAHO five per cent, and the Government of Ghana about 10 per cent, still leaving a significant gap.
The Executive Director of the National Population Council (NPC), Mrs Angelina Kodua Nyanor, stressed that family planning was central to achieving balanced population growth to support socio-economic development.
She reaffirmed the NPC’s commitment to work with partners to ensure that Ghanaians had the right and ability to access FP commodities to make informed choices.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), family planning enables people to attain their desired number of children and determine the spacing of pregnancies through contraceptive use and infertility treatment.
WHO further notes that access to contraception is a fundamental human right and provides major health benefits by preventing unintended pregnancies and reducing associated health risks.
BY ABIGAIL ANNOH
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