The decision to keep or termi­nate a pregnancy should solely be the choice of women, the United Nations Population Fund (UNF­PA) Ghana representative has said.

“The sense is that people should plan when they wish to start having babies, the spacing between the chil­dren, number of children and when you wish to stop having children,” the UNFPA said.

The Country Representative of UNFPA, Dr Wilfred Ochan said this on Thursday when he paid a courtesy call on the Management of New Times Corporation (NTC) in Accra.

The visit formed part of UNFPA’s effort to strengthen partnership between the two entities and also to amplify reproductive health advocacy.

He further reiterated his outfit’s commitment to achieving a world where every pregnancy is wanted, ev­ery childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

He explained that enabling individu­als to make informed decisions about when and how to have children is central to their mandate.

“In Ghana, about 23 per cent of people who need contraceptives are unable to access them. We at UNFPA support the procurement of 40 per cent of the country’s contraceptive commodities to help meet this need. Our aim is to achieve zero unmet need for family planning,” he noted.

Dr Ochan said to have a satisfac­tory outcome of every pregnancy, it was important to have both mother and child alive but that is not so with every pregnancy, stating that “ we still get 310 women per 100,000 live births die in the process of child birth.

According to the Country’s Director of UNPFA, Ghana was far from achiev­ing the global target of 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030 but commended Ghana for taking some bold steps in reducing maternal mortality.

In an attempt to reduce maternal mortality, Dr Ochan called for training of midwives, equipping them with right skills and competence and also mentoring them on the job while de­veloping policies and guidelines.

Highlighting the devastating impact of obstetric fistula; a condition often caused by obstructed labour, Dr Ochan called attention to the upcoming International Day to end Obstetric Fistula, observed annually on May 23.

As part of the 2025 commemora­tion, UNFPA will visit fistula survi­vors and support repair surgeries at hospitals in Ho, Cape Coast, and other facilities.

Responding, the Managing Director of NTC, Mr Martin Adu Owusu pledged the corporation’s readiness to collab­orate with UNFPA to ensure maternal deaths was reduced.

The Editor of The Spectator, Mrs Georgina N. M Quaittoo called on the UNFPA to open its doors and be ready to share information to the paper as it focused on maternal issues.

 By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu