Accra, Sept. 27, GNA - The First Lady, Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills, has called on Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts Assemblies (MMDAs) to mainstream and support strategies that address child and maternal mortality= .. She reiterated that 'every child born in Ghana is desired' and emphasised that family planning should help to reap the benefits of saving mother and child at birth.

Mrs Naadu Mills made the call when launching the maiden National Famil= y Planning Week at Teshie Salem Park, in Accra on Tuesday. It was in connection with World Contraception Day, observed on September 26. The Family Planning Week, proposed last year, is on the theme: "Contraception, Your Right to Accurate Information" and targeted at policy makers and general public, was an avenue to address major challenges facing family planning in Ghana. Annually, countries around the world organise events to mark World Contraception Day to demonstrate their commitment to raising awareness of contraception and improving education regarding reproductive and sexual health. "Accurate knowledge and effective communication empowers people to see= k what is best for their own health and to exercise their right to quality health care," Mrs Naadu Mills said. She noted that to make informed choices, most people needed to know much about family planning before they decided to visit a health care provider.

Mrs Naadu Mills pointed out that research, had shown that contrary to common perception, youth who were well informed with accurate and candid information on sexual issues tended to postpone sexual activity and to make informed choices. She said despite almost universal knowledge about contraceptives, they were not being fully utilized for fear of various reasons such as side effects of the methods, which often emanated from rumours, myth and misconceptions. Quoting from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, the First Lady noted that the use of modern contraceptive methods among married women decreased from 19 per cent to 17 per cent in the preceding five- year period. This reduction translated into approximately 123,000 women of reproductive age in Ghana being at risk of unintended pregnancy. Mrs Naadu Mills noted that by helping to slow population growth, famil= y planning improved development in every sector and it was a necessary pre-condition for maintaining the national goal of being a middle income nation. She stressed the need for improved access to family planning and high quality health care to curb loss of lives of women at child birth. Mr Adzei Annang, Member of Council of State, called for more responsible child birth in the community, to enable parents adequately care for few children on available resources.