Stakeholders have been urged to step up efforts in the sensitisation and education of adolescents and young people on their sexual and reproductive health to help them make informed life decisions.
This was brought to the fore at Multi-Stakeholders Dialogue on Reproductive Health Delivery in Ghana, meeting held at Nsawam in the Eastern Region on Tuesday.
Organised by Youth Advocates Ghana (YAG) with support from Planned Parenthood Association, the meeting was attended by chiefs, queen mothers, opinion leaders and policy makers.
The Multi- Stakeholder Dialogue on Reproductive Health Delivery in Ghana,is part of a series of activities under theCountry Acceleration Strategy (CAS) Initiative funded by African Union Commission and International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region.
It seeks to to create a space for stakeholders to discuss perspectives and areas of collaboration; share knowledge and discuss Reproductive Health Education(RHE) opportunities and challenges in order to increase the coordination of service delivery to adolescent and young people.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of YAG, Mr Emmanuel Ametepey, said “unsafe abortions, gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, etc. is on the rise, and affecting our society greatly, hence YAG, as an organisation will continue to ensure that we can convene conversations around these issues to enable find solutions to these issues.”
Mr Ametepey further added that even though the dialogue was being held within Nsawam, the outcomes of this dialogue would influence policy conversation at the national and African level, and YAG as an organisation would continue to push for young people to reach their full potential.
Participants expressed willingness to support expand RHE delivery in Ghana.
“We need to break culture and gender norms which is a barrier to reproductive health education delivery,” noted, MrNurudeenAhmaduTijani a participant from Nsawam.
“As parents, we should make collective efforts to reduce teenage pregnancy by educating our children on their reproductive health,” said Doris Boakye, a Public Health Nurse in the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipal Health Directorate.
The Country Acceleration Strategy (CAS) initiative, an initiative on Health and Wellbeing, in particular on Adolescent and Youth Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (AY SRHR) under the African Union Commission (AUC) and IPPF Africa Region Packard Project, seeks to strengthen coordination to increase access for adolescents and youth to SRHR in Africa.
By Times Reporter
