Only 40% of Ho residents use family planning methods

Only 40 per cent of people in the Ho Municipal area accept and practice family planning, Dr, Atsu Seake-Kwawu, Ho Municipal Director of Health Services, has said.

Adolescents account for 1.7 per cent of the 40 per cent.

Dr Seake-Kwawu was speaking at the maiden Coalition of NGOs in Health media encounter in Ho. The encounter was to provide the forum for the Coalition and the media to form a partnership on health education.

Dr Seake-Kwawu attributed the low acceptance and use of family planning methods in the metropolis to misinformation and appealed to the media to help correct the situation.

“Though family planning services are available, our people are not patronizing them for various reasons and this is where we need the media to help us make people understand the benefits of family planning,” Dr. Seake-Kwawu said.

He underscored the need for society to open up to free information on family planning methods and adolescent life to curb preventable diseases and unwanted pregnancies especially among adolescents.

Dr. Seake-Kwawu urged churches and non-governmental organizations to establish youth friendly centres where young people could have access to useful information on self-development.

Ms Commend Akpeloo, Volta Regional Chairperson for the Coalition of NGOs in Health, expressed worry that despite several efforts by stakeholders, family planning acceptance remained persistently low in the country.

She appealed to the media to help increase knowledge on reproductive health issues to reduce maternal mortality rates by 75 per cent by 2015.

Source: GNA