THE Northern Regional Minister, Mr Moses Mabengba has charged the Ghana Coalition of non-governmantal organisations (NGOs) engaged in health activities to embark on intensive education campaigns in the region to disabuse the minds of people with negative beliefs that hinder effective health care delivery.
He said efforts should be made to change the mindset of some people in the area who held certain beliefs about the potency of the national immunisation programmes.
Mr Mabengba said this at the 2010 annual general meeting of the coalition in Tamale. It was on the theme: “Tackling childhood immunisation and unsafe abortions —towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals 4&5.”
The participants discussed issues such as district level engagement with the public health sector, abortion law, sustainability of the coalition and strategic plan for 2011 and 2015.
The minister stressed, “I am aware that certain beliefs held about the potency of immunisation of our children is a major setback to our eradication efforts of some childhood diseases such as polio”.
According to him, such a situation posed a serious challenge to all partners in ensuring that the target of achieving the MDG 4 by the year 2015 was guaranteed.
Mr Mabengba entreated the coalition to complement the efforts of the Ghana Health Service to ensure effective health care delivery in the region.
The National Co-ordinator of the coalition, Mr Samuel Boakye, briefed the participants on the activities of the organisation.
He announced that the coalition received financial support from the United Nations AIDS to promote the integration of stigma reduction into member organisations’ HIV and AIDS activities.
According to him, the management of the coalition would ensure that it stayed focus and worked towards achieving its set targets.
The Northern Regional Director of the National Population Council (NPC), Chief Issahaku Amadu, said prevention and management of unsafe abortion included sexuality education at all levels, young people making conscious efforts to abstain from premarital sex or unprotected sex.
“Prevention of unintended pregnancy is far better than engaging in abortion whether safe or unsafe” he stressed.
Chief Amadu observed that women and girls resorted to unsafe abortion to prevent significant persons from detecting the pregnancy, as well as inadequate resources to maintain and effectively manage full term pregnancy.
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