By Ewurabena Paha
The Ghana Health Service intends to incorporate Family Planning Methods into the National Health Insurance Package. The service is also working to Institutionalize Comprehensive Abortion Care in both Public and Private Facilities. These are part of measures to prevent Maternal Mortalities and Disabilities in the country’s health facilities.
The Director of Family Health Division of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Kofi Issa at the launch of Zero Tolerance for Preventable Maternal Deaths and Disabilities in Accra, noted that most complications including deaths recorded at health facilities were from unsafe abortions.
He said the earlier the role of family planning is incorporated into the country’s health care system to reduce such deaths the better.
The role of family planning in reducing preventable maternal death has long been identified and that justifies the new national policy of including clinical family planning methods into the NHIS minimum benefit package for all women.
The evidence shows that nearly half of pregnancies are unintended and a significant proportion of women in their reproductive age with unintended pregnancies resort to abortion. Unfortunately, abortion related maternal death, though highly preventable, remain under reported due to issue of stigma that surrounds it.
For fear of social embarrassment or incurring huge costs, women and girls have had to resort to undignified abortion methods or the use of obnoxious substances that could either end their livesor leave them with life changing complications, including infertility and psychological trauma.
The campaign on zero tolerance for maternal death under the theme Stop Preventable Maternal Death and Disabilities means the Ghana Health Service is seeking your support to remove all the barriers and unfair treatments that push women and girls with unintended pregnancies to dangerous paths that lead to their untimely deaths.
Dr. Kofi Issah at the launch of the campaign noted that Maternal Mortality is a national priority and all efforts must be geared to stopping it.
The Director General of the Ghana Health Service Dr. Patrick Kumah Aboagye noted that, ”no woman or girl in Ghana should ever have to use unsafe abortion due to social stigma or financial limitations”.
He called for support to remove all forms of barriers to abortion care.
The zero tolerance for preventable maternal deaths is a yearlong campaign aimed at educating the populace use of family planning services and promoting the study of sexual reproductive health rights in schools across the country.
