Improve Access To Contraception To Contain Rising Teenage Pregnancy – Mary Stopes Ghana To Gov’t

Mary Stopes Ghana is urging government to improve access to contraception to contain teenage pregnancies during the period of the Coronavirus crisis.

Due to the global phenomenon, it is estimated that as many as 1.4 million women globally lost access to family planning services alone.

During the COVID-19 lockdown in the country in April 2020, Marie Stopes Ghana projected that over 26,000 women and girls could lose access to contraception due to significant reductions in service provision for 3 months (April - June) at Marie Stopes Ghana clinics, health outreach areas, and in all the private BlueStar clinics that they support.

Between March and May this year, a revelation by World Vision Ghana confirmed that its Krachi West Area Programme in Ghana recorded almost a ninefold rise in teen pregnancies.

Taking into consideration the statistics provided and many others, Mary Stopes Ghana on the occasion of World Contraception Day is asking the Ghana government to ensure women have continued access to contraception throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic.

“Marie Stopes Ghana is therefore urging local health authorities/governments, donors and the global community to work together to prioritize access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services in their COVID19 response, to collaborate with service providers to ensure the landscape supports safe access, and to learn from the impact we have seen during the pandemic so far to ensure women and girls have timely access to essential services when needed most”, the non-governmental organization further adds.

Below is the full press statement: