The Mfantseman Municipal Director of Health, Dr Kwabena Sarpong, has urged the government to make family planning services free of charge to correspond with the free maternal care introduced last year.
This, he pointed out, will prevent population explosion as a result of the free maternal care.
Speaking at the annual performance review meeting of health facilities under the directorate at Saltpond on Wednesday, Dr Sarpong noted that the free maternal care had led to a considerable increase in birth rate.
The municipal directorate take care of a district hospital, seven sub-district facilities and six Community Health Planning Services (CHIPS) zones.
Dr Sarpong appealed to the pharmacy board to ban the sale of Cytotec, to persons without prescription from a qualified medical officer.
He explained that the drug normally used during delivery, was being exploited by young women to terminate pregnancy, often landing them in hospitals or even leading to the lost of their lives.
The medical officer said he had also observed that retention of urine which used to be a disease for the aged had become common among the youth.
He attributed it to the use of drugs and herbal concoctions by men to enhance libido.
Dr Sarpong therefore advised the youth to desist from the practice.
He said cases of malaria topped attendances recorded in the facilities followed by skin diseases, diarrhoeas, hypertension and anaemia.
He urged the communities to pay serious attention to environmental sanitation; people should also use the insecticide treated bed nets as means of preventing mosquito bites.
Dr Sarpong said the increase in the number of skin diseases could be attributed to overcrowding of people in a room without proper ventilation.
Mr Samuel Sosi, Gomoa East District Director of Health, who represented the Regional Director, called on workers to be abreast with the new health policy to enable them operate within its confines.
He urged district health directors to find time to attend review meetings of other districts, so that they could learn from their success stories.
Nana Ataapim Kweenu VIII, Mankrado of Nkusukum Traditional Area and a member of the Municipal Health Advisory committee, commended the staff of all the facilities on their efforts to improve health delivery in the municipality.