Family planning policy ‘excellent’

National

THE Family Planning Policy has been described as excellent because it supports everyone’s right to have access to family planning services.
Marie Stopes PNG country director Malmee Weerasiri said the policy “actually says that family planning is for everyone in the reproductive age”.
“It’s very good because it is their right how many children they want to have. There is no age group.
“It doesn’t say for women or men,” Weerasiri said.
“It is for anyone in the reproductive age. So this is a very good thing because that’s what we believe in ourselves.
“It could be a young boy or a girl who could be in that age and is sexually active.
“They should be able to reach out.”
World Contraceptive Day 2017 was celebrated on Tuesday, in Port Moresby by Maires Stopes PNG with the theme “Every pregnancy is wanted”. Maries Stopes International said in a statement that 1.6 billion unintended pregnancies happened globally every year.
“If countries provide contraceptive to every woman who wants it by 2030, as agreed under the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development, family planning would prevent 1.6 billion unintended pregnancies, over 500 million unsafe abortions and 1.5 million maternal deaths.”
MSI vice-president Marjorie Newman-Williams said: “These figures show the incredible effect that contraception can have: one and a half million lives saved and millions of lives transformed. This is why family planning matters.”