Female condom launched in the Ashanti Region

Dr Akosua Darkwah, Deputy Director of Health Service in the Ashanti Region, has counseled women to accept to use of the female condom to space their births and as protection against Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD’s).

She said effective usage of the female condom has enormous benefits to safeguard the health and well-being of women in the prevention of diseases, unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions.

Dr Darkwah gave the advice when she launched the female condom in the Ashanti Region at Adako-Jachie, in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality. She said the new improved female condom is very sensitive to make it acceptable and urged women to convince their partners to agree and accept its usage.

The Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Director of Health Service, Mrs Alberta Lomotey, in an address, said according to a WHO report of 2008, 21.6 million women experienced unsafe abortion worldwide each year and 18.5 million of these occur in developing countries.

She said 4,7000 women die from complications of unsafe abortion and each year deaths due to unsafe abortion remain close to 13 per cent of all deaths.

Mrs Lomotey said through family planning most of these deaths could be prevented since family planning gives women the option to wait till they were financially ready to bear children.

Mr Afrifa Yamoah-Ponko, Municipal Chief Executive for Ejisu-Juaben, reiterated calls for the people to accept family planning method since it could help control population and reduce pressure on social amenities.

Nana Osei Bosompem III, Chief of Adako-Jachie said he had demarcated an acre of land for the construction of a clinic for the community and called on the assembly to support in undertaking the project.