Plan child birth to protect mother, child-UNFPA country rep

 The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has urged couples to space their children in order to promote better health and overall well-being of both mother and child.

“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 outlined.

The Country Representative of UN­FPA, Dr Wilfred Ochan, said this last week 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 imperative 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.

By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu