UNFPA Renews Partnership With Faith Based Organisations

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has highlighted the importance of harnessing the powers of religious and traditional leaders in communities to achieve national development and successes of some critical health interventions.

Mr. Niyi Ojuolape, the UNFPA's Country Representative, said his outfit was planning to hold a bigger consultation with Faith-Based Organisation (FBO) as key partners to create a network dedicated to promoting the agenda of ensuring a 'zero tolerance of maternal mortality, gender-based violence leading to rape, teenage pregnancies and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and a Zero tolerance of unmet need for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH)'.

He said the UNFPA as an organisation has very vibrant and stout network of FBO as allies in support of its reproductive health agenda in the 'Post 2015 Development Processes', yet at country level and the Government of Ghana (GoG) and UNFPA Country programme Six (CP6), there was limited engagement with these key groups.

Mr Ojuolape, was addressing representatives of FBO at breakfast meeting organised by the UNFPA in partnership with the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs in Accra on Wednesday, to critically review its partnership with these key groups, brainstorm and make recommendations for the way forward.

The meeting, was therefore aimed at engaging identified Muslim and Christian religious leaders so as to provide them with information on the GoG and UNFPA CP6 which was just ending, further brief them on the Seventh Country Programme (CP7), which was scheduled to commence in 2018.

Mr Ojuolape admitted that 'strategic partnership between government and Community leaders, such as religious leaders, was a key to a nation's development and success in programme areas such the demographic dividend, sexual and reproductive health, family planning, HIV and AIDS, gender equality and empowerment of women'.

According to him, the endorsement of influential religious leaders to new ideas on demographic dividend, family planning, HIV and AIDS, gender equality and empowerment of women has been documented to helped communities accept and adopt these approaches.

'For example, the government of Indonesia's engagement with leaders of Islamic-based organisations has resulted in several fatwas (religious decisions) that have been instrumental in the acceptance of the issues by the wider community'.

He said 'Churches have accepted these new approaches and integrated them into youth counselling, pre-marriage counselling, primary and secondary education, and other religious events', which was worth replicating in Ghana.

Aside government, the UNFPA would work with all other key gate keepers who were closely linked to the people at the community levels, to build their capacities and also provide them with the technical assistance to provide comprehensive sexuality education especially targeted at young people at aged 10, to build a strong foundation of knowledge to help change the dynamics as far as bridging the current communication gap with the youth was concerned, he said.

Reverend Dr Kwabena Opuni Frimpong, the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) welcomed the UNFPA effort to revitalise its partnership with FBOs, who although had over the years played crucial roles in promoting various healthcare interventions and programmes, often did so from the periphery.

He pledged the full support and partnership of the CCG to the UNPFA's programmes to support the Demographic Dividend, sexual and reproductive health as well as family planning, HIV and AIDS, gender equality and empowerment of women within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Among the speakers from the Muslim community were; Sheikh Amin Bamba, the Director of Bamba Islamic Institute, Ghana and Principal Imam of the Qudwah Mosque in Tamale, Lt. Col. Umar Sanda Ahmed (Rtd) also an Imam, and Hajia Hajara Muhammed, a Member of the National Commission for Education.

They all welcomed the renewed partnership with the UNFPA and pledged their support to work towards improving education, communication and closing the health needs gap of the hard to reach communities.

GNA
By Christabel Addo, GNA