16/10/2025
Building Capacity of Health Promotion Officers on Abortion-Related Health Communication
The Health Promotion Division (HPD) of the Ghana Health Service, in collaboration with the Family Health Division and AYA Collective, has taken another significant step toward reducing preventable maternal deaths through a two-day capacity-building workshop on Abortion-Related Health Communication.
The training was designed to strengthen the capacity of Health Promotion Officers to deliver accurate, empathetic, and evidence-based information on safe abortion care. Sessions covered key topics such as Comprehensive Abortion Care, the Legal Framework, Abortion Stigma, Cultural Sensitivity, and Debunking Myths surrounding abortion.
HPD facilitators, Ms. Vida Gyasi and Mr. Stephen Anaman, led insightful sessions on Effective Health Communication and Selecting the Right Medium for Target Audiences. They highlighted the importance of using the right platforms and community engagement strategies to change perceptions, address misinformation, and ultimately save lives.
A powerful storytelling session titled “Why Did She Die?” deeply moved participants. It narrated the story of Abena, a young woman who tragically lost her life after resorting to unsafe abortion due to misinformation, fear, and stigma. Her story underscored the real human cost of silence, judgment, and limited access to accurate reproductive health information.
In her closing remarks, Mrs. Mabel Kissiwah Asafo, Acting Director of the Health Promotion Division, commended the partnership and reaffirmed HPD’s commitment to promoting accurate, compassionate, and inclusive health communication. She encouraged officers to engage communities with empathy and evidence, empowering women with the right knowledge to make safe and informed health decisions
