Document Type

Brief

Publication Date

2014

Abstract

Ghana has made significant progress toward reducing the maternal mortality ratio but the rate is still unacceptably high. Up to 26 percent of married Ghanaian women have unmet need for family planning and one in four currently married women is using a modern contraceptive method. Satisfying unmet need for family planning could cut the number of maternal deaths by almost a third. One factor contributing to low usage of modern methods is shortage of trained staff, particularly those skilled in providing long-acting reversible and permanent methods. Until recently, implant services were provided primarily by Ghana Health Service (GHS) trained midwives, but lower cadre health workers were restricted from inserting and removing implants. In 2008, the Population Council and partners collaborated with GHS to train 33 Community Health Nurses (CHNs) in insertion and removal of Jadelle to augment services provided by midwives. GHS, in collaboration with the Population Council, convened meetings to discuss experiences with training this group of CHNs, findings of the assessment, WHO task-sharing recommendations, and case study results. As noted in this policy brief, GHS announced in 2013 that reproductive health policy would be changed to allow CHNs to provide implant services.

DOI

10.31899/rh10.1014

Language

English

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