The Vice President of the United Nations Association �Ghana (UNAG), Bishop Peter Kojo Sackey, on Thursday called for the formulation of laws that will compel couples to plan their families.
He said such laws will not only help women to be healthy but will also enable couples to produce the number of children they can easily cater for so as to reduce poverty in the country.
Bishop Sackey, who is also in charge of the Mankessim Church of Christ, said this at the �Commemoration of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty� at Mankessim in the Central Region.
The Day which was celebrated under the theme, �Working together towards a world without discrimination; Building on the experience and knowledge of people in extreme poverty�, was attended by students, market women, heads of institutions and a cross section of the public.
The Day was instituted in 1993 by the UN General Assembly and it is observed annually worldwide to create awareness on the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries.
Bishop Sackey urged religious and traditional bodies who preach against the use of contraceptives and other family planning methods to review their stance and allow couples to patronize them as this will help ease the hardships linked to uncontrolled child births.
He called on government and other stakeholders to involve people living in poverty in the planning programmes and activities that concern them.
�If we want to build a sustainable world of prosperity, peace, justice and equity for all, we must hear and heed the calls of the marginalized�.
He urged parents to send their children to school and provide them with all their basic needs saying education was the only way to reduce poverty.
Bishop Sackey said the fight against poverty is the core of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) and the post 2015 development agenda and called on all to put their hands on deck to help achieve the set goals.
Mr Isaac Buckman , the Central Regional Coordinator Of UNAG, appealed to parents to avoid unnecessary expenditure and rather cultivate the habit of saving money which would cater for their future needs.
Mrs Benedicta Yankson , a representative from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), also called on the youth to disabuse their minds that farming was for the poor and illiterate and urged them to consider venturing into farming.
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