The Mmabaawahemaa of Asotwe, Nana Akua Konadu, has called for the active involvement of men in discussions and implementation processes of family planning.

She described the participation of men, especially husbands, as crucial in attaining the objective of the family planning campaign.

Speaking at a sensitisation meeting for hairdressers from the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality at Ejisu, she said men who were family heads should not be left out of vital and sensitive decisions on an issue such as family planning because planning of families could not be left solely on the shoulders of women.

The programme was organised by the Ejisu Directorate of the Ghana Health Service in collaboration with the Ejisu-Juaben Traditional Council and funded by Ipas, a non-governmantal organisation (NGO), through the Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP).

Support

Thirteen queenmothers in the Ashanti Region are currently benefiting from the Ipas/CEDEP support, public sensitisation on reproductive health, as well as the reduction of unsafe abortion among young women.

Nana Konadu said the ultimate goal of the Ipas/CEDEP support was aimed at reducing maternal mortality in the Ashanti Region and the nation as a whole.

She mentioned that all the 13 queenmothers in the Ashanti Region were doing everything possible to educate women on the need to take family planning programmes seriously.

Caution

The Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Director of Health Services, Mrs Mary Amponsah- Koduah, who was the facilitator for the programme, advised women to desist from douching since that could have negative effects on their lives.

She said everything was being done to hit zero per cent rate in both infant and maternal mortality in the municipality and the nation as a whole, in line with the Millennium Development Goals.

The President of the Ejisu Hairdressers Association, Madam Agatha Boakye, commended the CEDEP/Ipas for sponsoring the programme to sensitise them to key issues related to reproductive health, and gave assurance that knowledge gained would be communicated to other people in the communities.