UN agency imports contraceptives worth $1.9m to Ghana

Reproductive Health Specialist at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr Robert Kwesi Mensah, has said his outfit has spent about $1.98 million on the importation of various contraceptives in 2018 alone.

The brands include implants in various forms such as Jadelle, Implanon, Depo pro-Vera and accessories; oral contraceptive pills in Norgynon and Microgynon as well as intrauterine devices (IUDs) and condoms.

Dr Mensah disclosed these to the Ghana News Agency in an interview on the sidelines of the 2019 Second Quarter Government of Ghana/UNFPA Seventh Country Programme (CP7) stakeholders meeting for the Volta/Oti Regions in Ho, recently.

He said between 25-40 million pieces of condoms mostly male ones averagely were supplied to the country per annum.

He observed that the Ghanaian population shied away from female condoms accounting for its low patronage.

The Reproductive Health Specialist said the usage of all modern family planning commodities in the country was pegged around 35-37 per cent.

“We should have done better,” he indicated and said that contraceptive prevalence rate was 35 per cent when ideally the country should have been doing 45 per cent.

“Progress is low,” Dr Mensah added.

He said UNFPA was poised to partner major actors to increase procurement, distribution and access of contraceptives.

Dr Mensah said its mandate included maternal health, sexual and reproductive health, fistula advocacy as well as research and surveys.

Source: GNA