Gender officers responsible for prioritizing adolescent health education
The percentage of teenage pregnancy cases in the Western Region fell to 12% last year from 18% in 2018.
Research conducted in 2017 by the Maternal Health Survey found that the Western region recorded the highest percentage of teenage pregnancies of 19% that year.
The Acting Regional Director of the Gender Department, Ms. Maribel A. Okine, made this known during a two-day training workshop to sensitize officials of the gender office in the region to the health needs of adolescents. sexual and reproductive.
The workshop jointly organized by the Gender Department and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) aimed, among other things, to train office managers in effective communication skills on adolescent issues.
It also involved building the capacities of gender officers to enable them to meet the sexual and reproductive health and gender needs of adolescents.
Ms. Okine noted that although the adolescent population makes up about 24 percent of the country’s total human strength, their health, economy, education and socio-emotional well-being were not properly integrated, especially in development plans, leaving them in limbo for this age group.
The Acting Regional Director commended the Region’s success in reducing the percentage of teenage pregnancies and commended the gender office and health professionals for their efforts.
She asked that the same enthusiasm that has been used to help reduce cases of teenage pregnancy should be applied in treating adolescent health problems.
She called on participants to take the workshop seriously and use the knowledge gained to analyze reproductive health issues at the local level to address the challenges facing adolescents.
For her part, Ms. Sandra Kuntu Anaman, Adolescent Health Development Specialist (ADHD), said that young people between the ages of 11-24 are the next workforce in the country, therefore their health issues must be taken very seriously.
She noted that children in their developmental stages were at risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV / AIDS, teenage pregnancy and therefore called on parents to be more responsible during this time, to avoid certain social disasters that these children often encounter in their development.
Ms Anaman said the growth rate of adolescents in Ghana is a clear indication that the future of the nation and region will be determined by these young people.
“That is why we need to make the case to policy makers and stakeholders that interventions should be designed to transform adolescents into responsible adults,” she added.
She mentioned the formation of school and community clubs, the development of mobile applications for adolescents, the creation of health corners for adolescents and the use of “fun entertainment” as some of the ways to help adolescents with information that can help adolescents. would empower them.
Participants were guided through ‘Making a Compelling Case for Adolescents’ using the National Adolescent Policy and section of the UNFPA Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Toolkit for Humanitarian Situations section,’ Responding the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents ”,“ Gender Concepts, Gender Mainstreaming; linking gender and health ”and“ Roles of GDOs: meeting the SRHR and gender needs of adolescents ”.