The Upper West Regional Youth Parliament (YP) has held a sitting to discuss further the findings of its research conducted in the Wa East District of the Upper West Region on adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) and to demand stakeholder accountability on the subject.
Following the research which posited that 83 per cent of adolescents in the district engaged in sexual escapades to secure money for sanitary goods, the YP undertakes engagements including parliamentary sitting to have stakeholder buy-in in addressing the situation.
The sitting, held on Thursday, November 17, 2022, staged motions on the interventions made by the Ghana Health and Education services towards improving the state of ASRH in the Wa East District.
The House, however, turned down the presentation of the paper by the Ghana Health Service as the invited guest was not in the chamber but delegated a subordinate.
Madam Janet Kpan Bayel, Girl Child Officer of the Upper West Regional Education Directorate, said the Ghana Education Service had trained teachers to handle the Reproductive Health concerns of students in schools.
“However, teachers are trained as to how to handle students as far as their reproductive health is concerned."
“The various schools, we have health teachers who are given the necessary training to handle our students,” she stated.
She added that the GES has also formed HIV/AIDS alert clubs in the schools, especially the Junior High Schools where students are taught the causes, symptoms, effects and prevention of the virus.
She added that adolescent health corners were also created in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service to make easy access to RH information from healthcare providers, and provide knowledge sharing on modern methods of disease and pregnancy prevention, among others.
Mr Amankona Ampofo, the Regional Director of the National Youth Authority under whose ambit the YP operates, urged the House to continue with the stakeholder engagements to institute the appropriate interventions to salvage the teeming adolescents whose futures are cut short by the situation.
He said the situation of ASRH has been exacerbated by the current global economic challenges.
Mr Kamaldeen Iddrisu, Programmes Coordinator for Northern Programmes Influencing and Impact Area (NPIIA) with Plan International Ghana, the funding organization for the programme, commended the youth for taking steps to redress for some of society's most pressing challenges for sustainable development.
He said the initiative by the YP to engage stakeholders with the findings of the research is appropriate for tackling the problem of ASRH squarely.
The Upper West Regional Staff Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, DO III Suonyir Kodi Alexis indulged the House to be ambassadors of anti-bushfire campaigns in the region.
He said over 90 per cent of the region’s vegetative cover has been destroyed by bushfires over the years.
He added that the natural ecosystem and agricultural productivity have been reduced due to the phenomenon.
The programme is funded by Plan International (Ghana) through the Youth Challenge Fund.