Reproductive Maternal New born and Child Health (RMNCH)
In Ghana, the 2010 Population and Housing Census (PHC) revealed about a quarter of the country’s total population represent adolescent aged 10 – 19 years. This is a population cohort aften regarded as a precious national assets and window of hope for sustainable development. The population structure of Ghana is predominantly youthful. This is much more manifest in Northern Region where the population has often been described as steadily increasing in youthful both in terms of proportion and in the absolute numbers. The concerns are levels of challenges related to pubescence, sexuality, marriage and child bearing and it’s associated parenting when indeed, they themselves are still being parented. Adolescents is a development period during which dependent children grow into independent adults. The development milestones have its concomitant reproductive health issues, which must be tackled as a matter of urgency. This RMNCH will address the health challenges of reproductive issues within age cohorts of pregnant women, neonates, children and adolescents as they quickly migrate into adulthood.
Inadequate clean water and poor sanitation may lead to avoidable contamination, disease, and death and poses obstacles to dignified menstrual health management especially for menstruating school girls. In addition to harming their overall health, and sexual and reproductive health especially, lack of access to sanitary pads and basic infrastructure (changing rooms) may prevent girls from attending school during their menstrual days.
Promoting RMNCH for all is key in accelerating Ghana’s vision for Universal Health Coverage, zero mater deaths, Gender Equality among others. In order to fulfil women, girls’ and vulnerable populations human rights, governments must invest in gender-inclusive social protection systems, quality public services and sustainable infrastructure. Thus, the RMNCH programmes of ITA include but not limited to;
- Reproductive Health and Rights Education (Child Marriages, GBV, Reproductive Health Education, Gender Equality and Equity)
- Maternal and Child Health promotion
in the context of a legal and policy environment that respects, protects, and fulfils the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls. It is vital that governments fully commit to overcoming these barriers, adopt a broad and holistic approach towards women and girls’ health, ensure that universal health coverage schemes include a comprehensive package of sexual and reproductive health care services, and invest in gender-sensitive infrastructure and public services. The Health programs of ITA is geared towards promoting access to health services including SRHR, maternal and child health as well as safe abortion as a right by girls and women to fulfil their aspiration in life.