Report By: Ishmael Barfi
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Ghana has called on the Government of Ghana to invest more in maternal health, family planning, and gender-based violence prevention.
The Deputy Country Representative Emmily Kamwendo-Naphambo made the call at the Stakeholder Validation Meeting on the Business Case for Investment in Family Planning, Maternal Health, Child Marriage, and GBV.
The validation forum held in Accra on December 4, 2024, brought together stakeholders from government, civil society, and development partners, and highlighted the critical importance of these sectors in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The forum also emphasized the need to address the low uptake of modern contraceptives, particularly among teenage girls, and to reduce the high rate of child marriage in Ghana.
According to Emmily Kamwendo-Naphambo “Ghana has made significant progress in reducing maternal mortality rates, but more needs to be done to achieve the SDG target of 110 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.”
Touching on child marriage, the UNFPA Deputy Country Representative revealed that, Ghana has a high rate of child marriage, which perpetuates a cycle of poverty and inequality. At the same time, Gender-based violence remains a significant challenge in Ghana, with many women and girls experiencing violence and abuse.
She further highlighted the importance of making a sustainable investment in the sexual and reproductive health of women and girls, improving family planning uptake and maternal health, reducing GBV, and eliminating child marriage.
“We live in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world which calls for different ways of doing things not business as ‘usual’ way for sustainability”, she reiterated.
The UNFPA Deputy Country Representative explained that Ghana’s graduation from low-income shifts contributed to shifts in development assistance for health and called for a transition from ‘funding’ to a ‘funding and financing model’ emphasizing domestic financing.
Moving forward, Emmily Kamwendo-Naphambo believed that there is a need to increase investment in maternal health, family planning, and gender-based violence prevention, improve access to modern contraceptives, particularly for teenage girls, strengthen efforts to reduce child marriage and promote girls’ education as well as enhance collaboration between government, civil society, and development partners to achieve the SDGs.
She strongly believes that by investing in these critical sectors, Ghana can make significant progress towards achieving the SDGs and improving the lives of its citizens.
“The SDGs are a call to action for all of us to work together to achieve a better future for all. Investing in maternal health, family planning, and gender-based violence prevention is critical to achieving these goals.” – Emily Upambo, Deputy Representative for UNFPA Ghana reiterated.
Meanwhile stakeholders called for increased investment in these critical sectors, improved access to modern contraceptives, and strengthened efforts to reduce child marriage and promote girls’ education. Meanwhile, a research work presented at the Forum highlighted the critical role of health care in reducing child marriage in Ghana.
The study found that improving access to Healthcare, particularly in areas with high malaria prevalence, can significantly reduce child marriage.
According to Dr. Jacob Novignon Norvinyo, Senior Lecturer at Economics Department, KNUST and lead researcher revealed that, when a child falls ill, their family must find money for treatment, which can lead to poverty and increase the likelihood of child marriage.
Additionally, a sick child may need to drop out of school, further increasing their vulnerability to child marriage.
According to him, there is a need to expand the scope of interventions aimed at reducing child marriage to include the health sector adding that, by addressing health challenges like malaria, Ghana can reduce the prevalence of child marriage and improve the lives of its citizens.
Outlining some of the key challenges, Dr. Novignon Norvinyo indicated that, Ghana has a high malaria prevalence rate, particularly in rural areas, many communities in Ghana lack access to quality health care, making it difficult for families to seek medical attention when needed.
He further stressed that poverty is a significant driver of child marriage in Ghana, with many families marrying off their daughters to alleviate economic hardship.
The study represented by the Senior Lecturer, Economics at KNUST recommended improving access to health care, particularly in areas with high malaria prevalence, addressing health challenges like malaria to reduce poverty and child marriage, expanding the scope of interventions aimed at reducing child marriage to include the health sector and strengthen education and economic empowerment programs to reduce poverty and child marriage.
Source: www.thenewindependentonline.com
