A Social Development Practitioner and National Coordinator of the Ghana CSOs Platform on the SDGs, Levlyn Konadu Asiedu, has raised alarm over a worsening shortage of family planning commodities, revealing that donated supplies worth $500,000 have been stuck at the port since August 2024.
According to her, the delay caused by misclassification and bureaucratic hurdles has prevented the timely clearance of essential reproductive health products, despite efforts by the Ministry of Health to engage the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Finance.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Super Morning Show on April 9, Ms Asiedu stressed that the prolonged situation is already impacting access to contraceptives across the country.
“These goods were donated to Ghana, yet they have remained at the port for months due to administrative challenges. It has taken all this while, and they are still there,” she said.
She explained that the issue goes beyond a single shipment, pointing to a broader systemic risk as Ghana increasingly loses support from key international partners.
For years, institutions such as USAID, UNFPA, and the West Africa Health Organisation have supplied the bulk of family planning commodities.
However, she noted that USAID previously responsible for about 45% of Ghana’s supply has withdrawn, while UNFPA is expected to reduce its support from 75% to 25% in the coming years.
“That means as our population continues to grow, our supply is rather decreasing. There is now a clear responsibility on local authorities to put in place mechanisms to ensure availability,” she cautioned.
The situation, she said, is already leading to rationing at health facilities. Women who previously accessed contraceptives monthly may now receive them once every two or three months due to dwindling stocks.
To bridge the gap, some facilities and pharmacies are turning to short-term alternatives that are not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme, forcing users to pay out of pocket.
“That means if I don’t have money, I cannot access these services. Yet people will still have sex, often unprotected, which increases the risk of unintended pregnancies,” she explained.
Ms Asiedu warned that the ripple effects could be severe, including a rise in unsafe abortions and maternal health complications.
“These are the consequences we are looking at. If people are not in a position to care for a child, they may resort to terminating pregnancies,” she added.
She further cautioned that delays in clearing the commodities could result in expiration, compounding the loss.
“If we do not act within the timeframe they are useful, we will be losing twice,” she stressed.
The concerns come amid reports that three containers of family planning commodities valued at about $1.6 million and donated by UNFPA and the West Africa Health Organisation have been stranded at the Tema Port since as early as February 2024.
The shipment includes oral contraceptives, condoms, injectables, implants, and intrauterine devices (IUDs), all critical to Ghana’s reproductive health programme.
Health advocates attribute the delay to unpaid import duties and mounting demurrage charges, worsened by changes in diplomatic tax exemption policies affecting donor agencies like UNFPA.
A coalition of over 55 Civil Society Organisations has already warned that the situation threatens Ghana’s reproductive health targets and could increase unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal deaths.
They also argue that clearing the commodities could save the government more than GH₵200 million in potential healthcare costs, while continued delays risk straining relations with international partners and jeopardising future support.
Ms Asiedu says urgent action is needed to prevent a full-blown public health crisis.
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