PPAG@60: President Leckson-Leckey unveils bold agenda to expand health services, empower youth

President of the Governing Council of the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), Mr. Gideon Yaw Tekpor Leckson-Leckey, has unveiled an ambitious agenda to deepen access to sexual and reproductive health services, strengthen youth leadership, and extend essential services to underserved communities as the Association prepares to mark its 60th anniversary.

Mr. Leckson-Leckey said the milestone must not be reduced to a celebration of PPAG’s past achievements but should provide an opportunity to build stronger partnerships and create a lasting legacy for generations to come.

He made the remarks at a public lecture organised by PPAG on Thursday, August 27, 2026, held at the Coconut Grove hotel in Accra under the theme “Healthier Lives, Stronger Communities: Empowering Ghana’s Future.”

According to him, PPAG’s nearly six decades of work have been anchored on the conviction that every person deserves access to information, services, and the freedom to make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.

He said that commitment remained as relevant today as it was when the organisation began its journey.

“As we look forward to the next 60 years and prepare for what is ahead of us, I would like to make a couple of points: innovation in service delivery, resource mobilisation and youth leadership,” Mr. Leckson-Leckey said.

Taking services closer to underserved communities

A major component of PPAG’s 60th-anniversary programme, he announced, will be a national community outreach caravan designed to take quality sexual and reproductive health information and services closer to communities across Ghana.

The initiative will use mobile and community-based outreach to reach rural, urban and underserved populations with family planning services, youth-friendly counselling, HIV and STI education and referrals, maternal health education, and other essential services.

Mr. Leckson-Leckey said the initiative was part of efforts to address inequalities in access to healthcare and ensure that geographical location or income does not determine who receives essential health information and services.

He also challenged PPAG and its partners to continuously explore innovative approaches to connecting the dots and reaching populations that remain underserved.

Youth to get a greater voice in health policy

The PPAG Governing Council President placed particular emphasis on youth leadership, saying young people must be given more than symbolic representation in decision-making.

The Association, he announced, will organise a National Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Leadership Summit to bring together young people, student leaders, peer educators, disability advocates, women-led organisations, rural stakeholders, and policymakers.

The summit is expected to provide a platform for young people to speak directly about challenges confronting them and propose practical solutions.

Issues expected to feature prominently include consent, digital safety, menstrual health, misinformation, healthy relationships, and access to community services.

Mr. Leckson-Leckey said empowering Ghana’s future meant investing in young people with the knowledge, confidence, and opportunities required for them to lead.

PPAG to document six decades of impact

As part of efforts to preserve the organisation’s institutional memory, PPAG will launch a 60-story social impact campaign documenting the experiences of individuals, communities, staff, volunteers, and partners whose lives have been touched by its work.

The stories will be shared through documentaries, television discussions, short digital videos, commemorative publications, and photo exhibitions.

Mr. Leckson-Leckey said the storytelling component would be undertaken ethically and respectfully, with appropriate consent and safeguarding measures.

The initiative, he explained, would help demonstrate what PPAG had achieved over the past six decades while giving communities and partners an opportunity to reflect on the organisation’s impact.

National policy dialogue planned

PPAG will also convene a national policy dialogue series on various sexual and reproductive health issues.

The platform will bring together government, Parliament, relevant authorities, civil society organisations, legal professionals, traditional leaders, young people, academia, development partners, and the media.

Mr. Leckson-Leckey said the dialogues would create space for stakeholders to address issues that were often considered difficult to discuss openly and work towards practical solutions.

Innovation challenge for young people

Another major initiative announced is an innovation challenge targeting young people, researchers, health workers, social enterprises, and technology companies.

The challenge will seek practical solutions to some of the persistent barriers to sexual and reproductive health.

Priority areas will include access to information for persons with disabilities, counselling and referral systems, menstrual health innovations, community solutions to teenage pregnancy, and strategies to counter health misinformation online.

Selected innovators will receive visibility, mentorship, and support to pilot their proposed solutions.

‘This legacy is about lives transformed’

Reflecting on PPAG’s contribution over the years, Mr. Leckson-Leckey said the organisation’s legacy should not be measured simply by the number of activities it had undertaken.

Instead, he said, its greatest achievement was reflected in the lives that had been transformed.

“This legacy is not about numbers, but lives that have been transformed,” he said.

He cited mothers who survive childbirth, young women who are able to pursue education, and families that can plan their futures as examples of the human impact of PPAG’s work.

He said the theme of the anniversary—healthier lives, stronger communities, and an empowered future—should therefore be treated as a call to action rather than merely an anniversary slogan.

Source:Joseph Wemakor