A watchdog Committee has been constituted by male residents of the Kulpieni electoral area in the Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region to check to incidence of teenage pregnancies, early marriage and sexual and gender-based violence among the youth.
Christened the ‘combat team,’ the young men formed the group after undergoing training on sexual and gender-based violence against women and protecting their female children against unplanned pregnancies and forced marriages.
The “combat team” came about as a result of increased teenage pregnancies, elopement and early marriages in the area which according to the people was largely due to funeral jams and other immoral associations by the youth in the community.
With support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the group received training from a team from the Domestic Violence and Victims’ Support Unit (DVVSU), Department of Gender and the Ghana Health Service on understanding SGBV issues as well as handling victims and perpetrators of the act.
Interacting with the Ghanaian Times at Kpaala on the sidelines of a monitoring meeting by a team from the UNFPA and the Regional Coordinating Council and its implementing partners yesterday, the Leader of the combat team, Tinsong Muntari said since the institution of the team early this year, the electoral area had recorded just one case of teenage pregnancies.
The UNFPA 8th Country Support Programme is being coordinated by the RCC as the main implementer and three sub implementing institutions; the Ghana Health Service, the Department of Gender and the DVVSU to support girls with alternative livelihoods, provide support and rehabilitation for victims of SGBV and also step-up efforts and campaigns aimed at improving upon advocacy towards preventing SGBV in the region.
He indicated that the team was able to foil the cohabitation relationship of two young couples in which cases, the females involved were both school children at the junior high level and said the girls were encouraged to go back to school.
He mentioned that the group carried out patrols in the community after 8pm each day to prevent girls and boys from hiding at vantage points to commit immoral act that would lead to unwanted and early pregnancies.
He explained that after the funeral, if speakers were used, the team ensured that the operators left the community immediately the funeral ended and commenced patrols around the funeral grounds to ensure that the youth went back home safely.
The Assembly Member of the Electoral Area, Mr Elijah Danyi, added that the work of the combat team had contributed to retention of school children at school as they were also engaged in sensitising the school children on the importance of school.
The National Programme Officer for Gender at the UNFPA, Mr Bawa Faisal encouraged the team to sustain the gains and ensure that they worked to scale up the knowledge they had gained from the respective trainings to other communities.
FROM LYDIA DARLINGTON FORDJOUR, WA
