By Moses R. Quollin,quollinmoses@gamil.com
Freelance Journalist/+231770922412/+231880922412
As Liberia has joined the rest of the world in celebrating World Contraceptive Day, officials at the Ministry of Health said the country is progressing toward increasing the contraceptive prevalence rate to 20% by 2020.
Liberia was one of the 24 countries that committed to improving access to family planning at the 2012 London Summit, with a duty to “provide family planning services free of charge,” among other things.
But it appears that the prevailing economic situations in the country hampered every sectors least to mention family planning, health related issues as many citizens downplayed contraceptives.
Experts say Family Planning is one of the most cost-effective interventions to prevent maternal, infant, and child deaths-by reducing the number of unintended pregnancies in a country. It is estimated that one-quarter to one-third of all maternal deaths are prevented.
Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Francis Kateh speaking at the official program making the World Contraceptive Day Celebration in Liberia on October 3, 2019 said: “National Target have been set for the MCPR [Modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate] since 2018 at 39.7% and over the next five years by 2022 the country hope to achieved 1.5%.”
He called on citizens, Liberians to adhered to rebranded methodology saying, “Let us planned our family responsibly ahead to the Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan (CIP)-2018-2022, and use the US $46 million to implement the FP CIP over the five years.”
For her part, the head of Family Planning Division at the Ministry of Health Madam Bentoe Z. Tehoungue said poor access to family planning information and services by adolescent girls is a major contributor to high rates of unwanted teenage pregnancy and maternal death.
Globally, according to her, complications of pregnancy and childbirth are the leading causes of death among adolescent girls aged 15-19 years.
In 2012, leaders from around the world launched the FP2020 partnership, which sought to increase access to contraceptive information, services, and supplies for an additional 120 million women and girls by 2020. This year’s contraceptive day was celebrated under the theme “Contraceptive: Your Life, Your Responsibility.”
Liberia in 2017 updated some commitments to include: reduce the adolescent birth rate by 27%; increase the percentage of women and men who use private sector family planning services from 30% to $40%; reduce stockouts of essential drugs and family planning commodities from 56% of faci9lities reporting no stockouts to 80%; increase government financial contribution to family planning by 5% -per year; increase Modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate by 100%.
According to sources at the Ministry of Health-the principal government entity responsible and accountable for the implementation of all health agencies including family planning program guided by the CIP, increase abortion, teenage pregnancies are among major issues identified.
Other to include: Modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate-20%, Unmet Need for Family Planning-31%, Neonatal Mortality-26/1000, 000 Live Births, Maternal Mortality-1,072/100,000 Live Births.