Planned Parenthood Ghana: Our New Gig

By Joshua | June 1st, 2006 | 2 Comments »

If the folks at PALM (with whom we worked in Sri Lanka) were some of the hardest-working NGO workers I’ve ever seen, then Planned Parenthood Ghana (PPAG) is one of the most developed organizations to which I’ve been assigned. To wit, PPAG has been addressing family planning and reproductive health issues in Ghana for 39 years!

In response to the first question asked by most of our friends (”Does it have anything to do with Planned Parenthood at home?”), PPAG is an independent organization in Ghana, and also a member of International Planned Parenthood Federation, with which Planned Parenthood USA is also affiliated (although much more loosely than PPAG).

In answer to the second question on your lips, PPAG does not perform abortions, even though certain types of abortion are, in fact, legal in Ghana. PPAG does operate a medical clinic which offers family planning counseling, post-abortion counseling, contraceptive help, fertility-related surgical procedures, ultrasounds, and other services. Even though Tay’s main experience and training is in labor/delivery and ante/post-partum moms, she is quite at home in her new position.

And although I do not get to wear cool booties in the operating “theatre” like my wife, I am also excited about my new role: to assist in the formation of a “documentation unit” for the organization, a large and nebulous task that will entail working side-by-side with Program Officer Anang Sowah, whom I will also be mentoring in writing skills and media relations.

I leave you with one more look at the latest in O.R. chic: