Features
PRIORITIZING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND GENDER EQUALITY FOR A BETTER GHANA
In 1968, a group of world leaders proclaimed that the public had a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and timing of their children. As a result, in 1989, World Population Day was established by the Governing Council of the United National Development Programme as an outgrowth of the Day of Five Billion which was observed on 11th July, 1987. This initiative was necessary to generate awareness among public about the population issues such as family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health, human rights, environment and its impact on development and the impact they have on development and environment.
Interestingly, approximately 83 million people are being added to the world’s population every year. Hence, it is expected that by 2030, World population would hit a whopping 8.6 billion, and 9.8 billion by 2050. The World Population Day (WPD) has been marked in Ghana with a call on the government to make a conscious effort to make family planning available and accessible to people of reproductive age, particularly women and adolescent girls.
Last year’s celebration being the 30th year running in Ghana’s participation of the day pays tribute to the landmark International Conference on Population and Development which took place in 1994 in Cairo. This year’s global theme “ICPD at 25: Accelerating the Promise” offers countries signatory to the ICPD Programme of Action (PoA) including Ghana, the perfect opportunity to review the achievements and challenges of the 25 years’ journey of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). In the case of Ghana, a National theme, “Reproductive Health and Gender Equality for Sustainable Development” has been adopted to enable us reflect as a country how far we have come in terms of upholding the three (3) key ideals of the ICPD PoA namely human rights, health & wellbeing and sexual and reproductive health. This, according to the Executive Director of the National Population Council (NPC), Dr Leticia Adelaide Appiah, would yield socio-economic gains that could propel the country’s development forward.
According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ,Sustainable Development 2030 agenda is the world’s blueprint for a better future for all on a healthy planet. On World Population Day it is recognized that this mission is closely interrelated with demographic trends including population growth, ageing, migration and urbanization.
Besides, World Population Day focuses on the importance of reproductive health and how it affects overall growth and development plans and programmes. Population issues include family planning, gender equality, child marriage, human rights, right to health, baby’s health etc. This programme basically focuses on comprehensive reproductive health care including family planning, safe pregnancy, childbirth services, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
Last year’s World Population Day celebration was held at Mantse Agbonaa in Accra on Thursday, 11th July 2019 which kicked off with a float through the principal streets of Ga Mashie, Accra featuring the National Population Council and its partners accompanied by school children. Various messages on family planning, personal hygiene, healthy living among others were disseminated to the public to create awareness on the need for gender equality and reproductive health issues.
The mayor of Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Honourable Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah, delivered the keynote address indicating that WPD celebrations aims to focus on the need to accelerate the promise of meeting the goals of ICPD and other global and regional development agenda like SDGs and AU Agenda 2063. According to him, the year’s celebration calls on all stakeholders to strive to meet the reproductive health rights and needs of individuals and also put in place measures to bridge the gender equality gap existing in the country.
He added that, in spite of the progress made by Ghana after 25 years of the ICPD, maternal deaths were still high, unmet need for family planning was still on the rise while gender violence was still prevalent. Hon. Nii Adjei Sowah reiterated that these issues were what was considered as the ‘unfinished business’ that Ghana was supposed to address if it was to meet the goals of the ICPD and other development agenda commitments like the SDGs and AU Agenda 2063.
Furthermore, the Executive Director of NPC, Dr. Leticia Adelaide Appiah made it known that for any country to make gains in the field of population and health there was the need to expand reproductive health rights and services to reach every individual in the country. According to her, this can only be possible if stakeholders increased their efforts and adapted tried and tested strategies like the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) which levelled the playing ground in terms of access to polio vaccination and was effective in reaching all and sundry including hard-to-reach areas with the polio vaccine.
She indicated that today, polio has been eradicated in all but three countries worldwide. As such there was the need for stakeholders to consider using this approach in the delivery of reproductive health information and services since the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) had massive support from both international and national stakeholders and was delivered in a well-coordinated and equitable manner all in a bid to safeguard individuals’ right to health.
Dr. Appiah therefore called on all stakeholders to formulate policies and programmes which would tackle poverty and inequality in society since these are the main issues that limit people’s access to SRH information and services. When issues relating to poverty and inequality are dealt with, we would have a world where no one is left behind thus pave the way for unprecedented economic development due to the presence of a healthy and vibrant human populace. She established that stakeholders are to act swiftly in initiating change in the area of reproductive health and gender equality since it affects Ghana’s chances of meeting set goals in international and regional development agenda such as the SDGs and the Africa Union Agenda 2063, ‘the Africa We Want’.
More so, the representative of the Parliamentary Caucus on Population and Development laid emphasis on women and girls because they suffer all kinds of sexual abuse and gender discrimination in societies. Women empowerment, investment in education, quality and accessible health care delivery for women and girls are essential to promote a healthy living and bring forth healthy offspring. It is therefore important to uphold women’s rights to reproductive health and some cultural practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), early child marriage abolished from our societies. According to him, the Parliamentary Caucus on Population and Development will help the National Population Council (N.P.C) to address issues on Reproductive Health and Gender Equality for a sustainable development.
Again, Ms. Anne Coolen, the Country Director of Marie Stopes International Ghana, reiterated that, there is unfinished business when it comes to population issues. Equality means ensuring that people have equal opportunities to make the most out of their lives and talents. As such gender equality is a pre-condition for meeting the challenges of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.
However, most West African government lack the commitment towards reducing inequality as women and girls are the most affected. This is as a result of the lack of commitment to funding of public services such as investment in health care, and education by most governments. She bemoaned the inadequate contribution of the government of Ghana towards health care financing since the Abuja declaration in 2001 which Ghana has agreed to make a commitment of 15 percent of annual budget to health.
She continued by indicating that, in 2017, the total budgetary allocation to health was under 8 percent of which public health received only 4 percent which includes family planning and reproductive health. In as much as Ghana has good policy on family planning, little allocation of resources is being made towards its implementation thus, investment in sexual and reproductive health is a major tool for sustainable development. She then said that, Marie Stopes International Ghana will continue to support NPC and its partners to make this a reality.
In Conclusion, the chair, Dr. Gladys Norley Ashitey informed all partners gathered that NPC was committed to strengthening its collaboration with the private sector so as to enable it execute its mandate as the lead coordinating agency for all population programmes in the country.
It would be of great benefit to the nation if various partners strive to assist the NPC to meet its targets. The success story of EPI shows that with the right tools backed with commitment there was the chance that we will have a world where everyone’s right to reproductive health information and services is upheld and prioritized regardless of location, economic status or background.
Writer: Solace Esi Amanka
(PRO, National Population Council)
Source: Ghanaian Times
Today, I focus on the Global Methodist Church in Finland, as I continue with my description of institutions and personalities and their accomplishments as members of the Ghanaian Diaspora in Finland. I give special attention to the Ghanaian Methodist Fellowship, which is under the Global Methodist Church in Finland.
The Global Methodist Church in Finland is quite new, having split from the United Methodist Church Finland.
The Church in Finland has seen significant strides and accomplishments within the short time that it has been established in Finland, which must be highlighted.
Some history
The Methodist Church in Finland has existed for over 100 years since 1800s. It was conducted mainly in the Finnish language, according to Pastor Freeman Awuah. In 2012, a Finnish member of the Helsinki church and the then Mr Freeman Awuah, a Ghanaian immigrant who had joined the church, started bible studies which was turned into the English version of the church.
Many Ghanaians joined and they formed the Ghana Fellowship church within the Finnish Methodist church with services conducted in Twi.
In 2025, the Ghana Methodist Fellowship joined the Global Methodist Church and became quite well grounded. The Methodist Church generally does not have much influence in Finland as compared to the Lutheran and Orthodox churches. Even so, the Global Methodist Church currently has two branches, in Espoo and Lahti.
The Church has three ordained pastors, with the Finnish pastor as the leader of the church, assisted by Pastor Freeman Awuah (who was ordained a pastor a few years ago) and another Ghanaian pastor (Pastor Paul Brewu, who was recently ordained).
Activities and achievements of the Church
The Global Methodist Church in Finland conducts church service on Sundays. The service starts at 11 in the morning and closes by 1 p.m. When the service is done in Finnish there is English translation, and there is the service by the Ghana Methodist Fellowship, which meets once a month.
There are other meetings on other days when the church has what is termed Community Fellowship (Bible Studies) on Tuesdays in English, Thursdays in Finnish and Fridays in Twi at 6 pm.
The Global Methodist Church in Finland continues to shepherd people in their religious lives for God’s glory. The church opens its doors to people of every nationality, including Finns, other Europeans, and other African migrants, aside those of Ghanaian origins.
“We are a family church because we are a family to other migrants and we care for the needs of each other or others in all situations that we can be of help.
For example, in the women’s group, we have an organisation in Finland which works to fight against human trafficking. The women’s group has also adopted an orphanage in Ghana where we help the less privileged ones”, Pastor Awuah revealed.
But there are also challenges, according to Pastor Freeman, as with any new group or institution that faces initial obstacles. Also, the COVID-19 situation brought a huge challenge such as physical resources and logistics. The lockdowns resulted in church services not conducted regularly, and done online. People are still interested in online worships than physical meetings, he said, adding: “We are trusting God to help”.
Impact of the Ghanaian migrant community
The Global Methodist Church in Finland plays a prominent role as a religious group that serves Ghanaian migrants and others in the Finnish society.
The Ghanaian community has great impact since majority of the church membership are of Ghanaian origin (about 60 per cent). There are other nationalities and it is thus a very multicultural body.
Integration
By its activities, the Global Methodist Church is thus helping to ensure integration of its members well into the Finish society.
This is important since social interaction and citizens’ well-being are an important part of the integration process in Finland.
As I mentioned some time ago, the role of migrant associations and groups such as the Global Methodist Church acting as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice is highly appreciated in Finland. Thank you!
GHANA MATTERS column appears fortnightly. Written in simple, layman’s terms, it concentrates on matters about Ghana and beyond. It focuses on everyday life issues relating to the social, cultural, economic, religious, political, health, sports, youth, gender, etc. It strives to remind us all that Ghana comes first. The column also takes a candid look at the meanings and repercussions of our actions, especially those things we take for granted or even ignore. There are key Ghanaian values we should uphold rather than disregard with impunity. We should not overlook the obvious. We need to search for the hidden or deeply embedded values and try to project them.
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
Email: perpetual.crentsil@yahoo.com
I picked Kwakyewa up, and we drove to the site on the Aburi road. We drove for some five minutes, and a security man opened the gate, and we entered the 40 acre plot secured with a fence wall.
‘Here we are. I have just started buying materials. I am planning on building one hundred apartments, and fifty top class houses’. ‘
David, are you telling me that this is all yours?’
‘Yes. All mine. I carefully engaged with the chief of the town, and his elders. I paid him all the arranged monies, in the presence of his people. And I have started work on a school building for the town, and I’m renovating his palace. When the block of houses is sold, I will invest the bulk of the funds here.
I will start with twenty houses, without taking any loan. When I sell them, then I will build many more’.
We went round the site, and spoke with the workers who were clearing the land. After an hour we went back in the car and drove off. ‘You are not saying anything, Kwakyewaa’. ‘
What can I say? It’s just incredible. I will stay for as long as you need me’.
Many thanks, Kwakyewaa.
I will count on your support. I will continue working with the EU for another couple of years, so I will be up north a lot of the time. So you will be in charge’. After spending another couple of hours at the city centre site, we decided on lunch’.
We got down at Sankofa, and I took her hand as we walked to take our seats. After taking a sip of my drink I looked across the big room and saw Abena staring at us, a look of utter shock on her face. She continued to stare as Kwakyewaa spoke about the changes she had to make due to her extended stay in Ghana. After a while I ignored her and focused on the discussion.
‘Now listen, Kwakyewaa, this is a most important part of what we have started to do, as a couple, and as business partners.
For starters, I would like you to prepare a budget of the expenses you need to make as a result of postponing your return and staying here for three months, and I will pay you the money.
In the coming days we will decide on how much money you need to be comfortable. Then, later on, we will take the bigger decisions resulting from continuing with the relationship.
Suddenly she got off from her seat, sat on my lap and hugged me, as the other guests watched in appreciation. Unfortunately I could not look in Abena’s direction.
We parted at the office at the close of day. Kwakyewa joined Eva and Robert for the drive home, as I drove home. Although I was playing my favourite jazz tunes, my head was spinning with thoughts of Kwakyewaa. Abena was beautiful, but Kwakyewaa was in a completely different league altogether.
And she combined queenly beauty with incredible sharpness of mind. She calculated business issues with ease, and she planned and recorded everything. And to top it all, it was obvious from the first day that she cared about me.
This time, business was going well, but the relationship side was also cool. This time, I could forget about Abena and her big ego and sharp tongue.
I sat to watch TV, but started feeling sleepy, so I rose to go and lie down when my phone rang. It was Kwakyewaa. ‘Bernard, Abena just came in. She’s furious. She’s throwing verbal bombs at Esaaba, saying things like “if you think you will insult me by fixing David Kwakyewaa, you are joking.
If I wanted Bernard I wouldn’t have thrown him out. David is junk. She can have him. I’ve gotten someone far better than him. You are all stupid”. ‘
And what did Esaaba say?’ asked.
‘We didn’t say anything. Which made her angrier, so she rained insults for quite some time, and went to her room’.
‘Nice one. It’s good you ignored her. Hey look! She has just sent me a message. Let me check and get back to you’.
I opened the message and read. ‘Bernard, so you are now Kwakyewaa’s boyfriend. Congrats. I thought you would spend sometime to improve yourself before trying to get a girlfriend, but obviously you think otherwise. Pray that she also doesn’t throw you out soon’. I sent her a reply.
‘Madam, I’m tired of your insults and lies. I will come and show this to Mom first thing tomorrow, and tell her about the things you have been saying about me. I may also do you a favour by telling her about a certain transaction by which Jennifer sold an arrogant girl for peanuts.
Goodnight’. She called me numerous times, but I did not pick her call. At six following morning, my doorbell rang, and I went to find Abena and Esaaba, and let them in. ‘David’, Esaaba said after I had offered them seats, I hear you have threatened to come and see Mom this morning to tell her about the message Abena sent to you. Well, we have come to apologize to you, not only for the message but also for anything she has said about you.
She says it will not happen again, so please forgive her, and cancel your plan of coming to see Mom’.
‘Yes, David’, Abena said. ‘I am very sorry. I promise it will never happen again’.
‘Okay. I accept your apology, even though the things you’ve been saying were not true, and they really hurt me, because I did not get the chance to defend myself to the people who heard it’.
‘And David’, Abena said, please do me a favour. ‘You said Jennifer sold me for peanuts. Is it true, or you were just rebutting what I said’.
‘Let’s do it this way’, I said. ‘Call Jennifer, and ask her if it is true that she was paid by your boyfriend for fixing you with him. I’ve heard he has not given her the full amount, so she has been calling him to demand the balance’. ‘I don’t believe it, but let me call her and see’.
She called Jennifer. After a few moments she started shedding tears. ‘Esaaba let’s go’, she said quietly. I walked them to the roadside and hired a taxi to take them home.
At the office a couple of hours later, Kwakyewaa came to sit by my desk and looked straight at my face.
‘So what happens now? Esaaba told me what transpired at your house. ‘What she does is none of my business. Maybe she will go and sort things out with her rich boyfriend’.
‘I was afraid she would decide to fight to have you back. I have been really worried’.
‘Are you joking? We have already agreed on what Esaaba calls a smooth transfer. We have a relationship, and I’m very pleased with it. Let’s make plans for the future as we agreed’.
‘Okay. I have already started implementing my plan. I have told my parents about you, and my plan. They have accepted it. From this evening, I will spend a lot of time with you, at your house. Now, let’s talk about activities for today’.
By Ekow de Heer
