By Desmond Tinana
There has been a steady decline in the cases of teenage pregnancy in the Central Tongu District of the Volta Region of Ghana for the past few years as students are being engaged in an Adolescent Club where they are frequently taught about their Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights.
The initiative, which is being conducted by Savanna Signatures, a non-profit organization, presents Students of Mafi Agoe Basic School and 178 other Junior High Schools in the 3 districts with the opportunity to learn age-appropriate adolescent reproductive health education twice every month.
Some teachers and health workers in Mafi Agoe and other communities in the Central Tongu District of the Volta Region have lauded Savana Signatures for their contribution towards a significant decline in pregnancy among adolescent girls.
They said over the past few years, Savana Signatures through the Youth Empowerment Project has aided basic school children in making informed decisions about their sexual health and well-being.
A school facilitator, Mr. Hayford Zoyrah, said, “The Youth Empowerment Project and the introduction of the reproductive health education has advanced our pupil’s understanding of themselves, their assertiveness to speak to reproductive health issues, and the urgency to complete their Junior High education. My pupils discuss and share some of their reproductive health challenges and we provide them with the needed guidance to support them. After 2 years of facilitation of the lessons, we’ve had our pupils complete their junior high education and enrolled in some senior high schools in the region.”
Meanwhile, the midwife in charge at the Agoe Mafi CHPS Compound Mrs. Bakudie Jemima, who assisted the facilitation of the lessons also said she periodically gets invited to support in educating the adolescents on Sexually Transmitted Infections especially HIV/AIDS, pregnancy, contraceptive usage and its effects and personal hygiene.
She confirmed that “Even though our adolescents face different challenges in this community, I have observed an improvement in their life through their response and some conversations they have with me.”
Madam Bakudie also encouraged them not to feel shy when interacting with other health workers at the facility whenever they have health concerns especially when it comes to their reproductive health. She assured them that their issues would be treated as confidential and that they could also contact the SHE+ Helpline toll-free number 0800001122 to be referred to the facility if they could not walk freely into the health facility.
Speaking with some of the pupils in the school, Ishmael Tetteh said, “The lessons are fun and engaging. We do not only learn about understanding ourselves, but we also learn about the importance of designing our future and making decisions every day to achieve these dreams. I feel motivated and I am thankful to Savana Signatures and our teachers for this initiative.”
The Language Prefect of the school, Emefa Amoah, also said, “The lessons have made us observe in our communities why adolescent girls got pregnant and had to drop out of school. This reminds us of the privilege we have as students and the need to focus on our dreams to support our family and communities.”
Madam Mavis Sadzi, The District Girl Child Education Officer, also mentioned that the reproductive health lessons facilitated in these schools engage pupils with fun activities that enhance their ability to think critically about life issues that shape their thoughts and deal with their emotional imbalance.
The Youth Empowerment Project (YEP), which is implemented by Savana Signatures with support from UNESCO, is empowering in and out-of-school adolescent girls with access to age-appropriate and accurate reproductive health education in the South and Central Tongu districts and the Keta Municipality.
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