Introduce Family Planning As A Course Of Study In Schools

A Public Interest Advocate, Dr. Ernest Kwarko has argued that the name 'Family Planning' erroneously exclude young people who may not be ready to start a family.

He has, therefore, proposed Sexual Transmitted Infection and Pregnant Prevention (STIPP) to which young people can relate to more, and convince them that they are part of a target which might help prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies among the youth.

Dr. Kwarko is also calling for the inclusion of Family Planning into the curricula of Junior and Senior High School students for effective propagation of the family planning message.

“The latest survey from the maternal health service shows that we are doing 25%, so we have a little to catch up. We have to widen our scope to include young people, because they find their needs slightly different from adults,” he said.

He explained that both the two Ghana Demographic Survey (2014) and Ghana Maternal Health Survey (2017) put the teenage pregnancy fertility rate at 14%, so there is the need to target young people, which must be taken to the schools.

Dr. Kwarko, who is a gynecologist and pediatrician at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), indicated that Ghana should send it to the lower Junior High and permeate through Senior High because mistakes are easily made at these places.

He said: “The first sexual experience or debut can actually have a lot of effect on them, if it has not been well planned, hence schools should be a good place to introduce family planning.”

Dr. Kwarko's observation were made during a media interaction, where a group of young medical students belonging to the International Association of Medical Students across the world, with nationals of Canada, Denmark, Sudan, Portugal and Brazil among others, who have chosen to concentrate on family planning access and awareness.

Dr. Kwarko expressed excitement that the International Students of Medical Association and their counterparts comprise young people interested in family planning because young people have slightly different need from adults and they want to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

He was also happy that Free Senior High School education has actually been implemented to mop up young people to be in school and that once they stay in school, it keeps them away from mischief.

“The right place for these young people is in school, where they have no business to produce children and contract sexually transmitted infections,” he noted and hoped they take advantage of it.

The medical officer revealed that all the two surveys quite clearly show the male condom is the most commonly known. The two surveys also show that the injectable are the one commonly used.

He said, “The major access to contraceptive for poor people is financial access barrier thus their inability to afford the service.

“Fortunately, most of our services in the public institutions are subsidized and the recent survey (2014 Demographic report) has shown that there is a shift in paradigm of source of procurement to our services from the private sector.

Ms Nikoline Moller Lynnerup, one of the participants from Denmark, explained that in Ghana everybody knows about contraceptives and how to use them, especially the male condom, even though education about contraceptive is low in Ghana and needs to be promoted more.

Mr. Daniel Danso Aboagye, the leader of the medical students, hinted of plans by the team to go to some Senior High Schools to educate students on the use of contraceptives.

He also announced that the medical students shall embark on social media campaign as well, adding that the conventional media has played a great role in making people understand what is family planning and since most of the youth are on social media, it would be prudent to turn to it to drum home the message of family planning.