The Youth Advocacy on Rights and Opportunities(YARO), a Non-Governmental Organization, in collaboration with the MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership(MCGL), has organized a district-level conference to promote the use of family planning and reproductive health services for young people.
The one day conference held at the Moderncity hotel on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, forms part of YARO's efforts to improve the quality of Family Planning (FP) and Reproductive Health (RH) in selected 7 MMDAs in the Northern, Upper West, Savannah, and North East regions of Ghana.
The project is currently implementing in 28 health facilities and the beneficiary Districts are; Yendi, Sissala East, Nadoli-Kaleo, among others.
In attendance were; District Directors of Health Services, data entry officers from the Ghana Health Services, Youth Leaders, selected Nurses, officers from the National Youth Authority(NYA), partner organizations, the National Population Council(NPC) among others.
The conference created an opportunity for young people to share the challenges they go through in accessing family planning and reproductive health care.
Again, it gave way for the experts to suggest ways by which space could be created for the young people to demand better FP and RH services through social accountability mechanisms.
Furthermore, it paved the way for stakeholders such as the media, religious and traditional leaders, duty bearers, and the GHS to highlight efforts made towards improving FP and RH for the young people and plans they have to increase access to FP and RH in their various areas.
Mr. Douri Bennin Hajei, the Executive Director of YARO, in his open remarks, urged stakeholders to work toward making Family Planning Services easy to access for young people especially, the adolescents.
He noted that YARO was working with the MCGL and the USAID to enhance and scale-up youth-led accountability mechanisms to improve FP and RH in the selected MMDAs.
He also urged health institutions to make available adolescent corners in their facilities and also make it accessible to the youth, especially, the adolescents.
He, however, advised adolescents to avail themselves for family planning and reproductive health services rendered in health facilities.
He used the opportunity to thank the MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership(MCGL-Ghana), and USAID, for sponsoring the project.
Madam Salamatu Sulemana, a public health nurse for the Sagnerigu Municipal, in a presentation, said access to family planning and reproductive health services, was very poor in the municipality.
According to her, only 26 percent of the population in the municipality had access to FP in 2019 with 22.4 percent for 2020 and 37.7 percent in 2021
She also said stigmatization, inadequate facilities and staff, and resistance by clients were some of the factors affecting the provision of FP services in the area.
She however indicated that the Municipal Health Directorate had put in plans to help improve and promote the acquisition of FP services by adolescents and young adults.
According to her, plans such as the creation of a friendly environment, regular visits to youth camps/groups, schools, homes, and making the FP services free of charge have been initiated by the directorate to enhance youth access to the FP and RH.
On her part, the Executive Director of the MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership(MCGL) Dr. Pearl Nanka Bruce, commanded YARO and its partners for the smooth implementation of the project.
She indicated that Ghana's population was a youthful one, and urged stakeholders to support the course of making family planning accessible to the young people in order for the country to have a healthy population.
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stakeholders need to work toward making Family Planning Services easy to access for young people