Mr Charles Oduro Owurani, a Project Assistant at the Sunyani office of the Young and Wise Centre of the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) says the Association has expanded its reproductive health services, distributing 15,522,598 contraceptives nationwide in 2024.
Nonetheless, he expressed worry that the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) indicate “over one in four women in the country still have an unmet need for modern contraceptives”.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani on the activities of the Centre, Mr. Owurani said: “The survey indicates the highest burden of this unmet need falls on adolescents, high-parity women, and underserved communities”.
He said: “These figures highlight the urgent need to dismantle the myths, stigma, and systemic barriers that prevent individuals, especially young people and vulnerable women, from accessing the care they deserve”.
Mr Owurani stressed that everybody had the right to make informed choices about his or her reproductive health, saying that: “Every condom, pill, implant, and counselling session represents life empowered, future protected, and community strengthened”.
He called for decisive action to tackle persistent gaps in access, affordability, and public understanding of modern contraceptives, explaining that in line with the 2025 World Contraceptive Day, the PPAG engaged its service enablers, members, and volunteers to challenge harmful norms and foster open dialogue.
Those engagements aimed at shifting perceptions, correcting misinformation, and guiding individuals, especially the youth and vulnerable women, through the stages of awareness, decision-making, and action.
Mr Owurani urged stakeholders to foster a supportive environment by investing in inclusive and youth-friendly services “so that together we can ensure that everybody is enlightened and confident to make informed decisions on reproductive choices”.
