C/R Youth Assembly discusses reproductive health
It is unfortunate that today some parents have lost the desire to be vigilant and responsible in supervising their children properly. According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Health Advocacy Assembly, Ms Linda Essielfie-Nyame, “It is disheartening to see very young children today roaming about in town exposed to the vagaries and preys in society on every side.’’
The youth assembly
The assembly is made up of young boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 17, and members are drawn from the various schools in the assemblies in the region.
Taking the local governance concept of bringing development to the doorstep of the citizenry, the youth assembly also meets quarterly to discuss issues of reproductive health within their various communities and how they could help resolve them.
“It is amazing how many parents today don’t know where their children sleep, how they get flashy material things, who their friends are and the places they go,” she said.
Ms Essielfie-Nyame expressed the sentiments when she delivered sessional address on the negative effect of teenage pregnancy on the girl child. This was when the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Goodwill Ambassador, Madam Catarina Furtado, paid a courtesy call on the assembly, at the Central Regional Coordinating Council, last Tuesday.
Madam Furtado, who is also an actress and a television presenter, is in the country to participate in the 7th African Conference on Sexual Health and Rights (2016 ACSHR) to raise visibility and build continental support for the investments needed in Africa to realise the demographic dividend.
Cases of teenage pregnancy
According to Ms Essielfie-Nyame, statistics from the Ghana Health Service, indicate that from 2013 to 2015, the Central Region recorded a 2.4 per cent reduction in teenage pregnancy cases.
That achievement, she said, was due to the vigorous awareness and educational campaign in the various communities by stakeholders.
However, she said the assembly would not allow complacency to set in because “this is just a report on those who have gone to hospitals and therefore it does not capture the reality on the ground.”
Sustain the record
Ms Essielfie-Nyame said there was also the need to sustain the record and even aim at doing better by targeting adolescents in the age bracket of 10-19 who were often coerced into early sexual activities by older partners, due to poverty.
Additionally, she said the average youth always had morality concerns where issues of reproductive health, especially the attempt to demystify such issues, were concerned.
“But the truth is, in societies where the right of children, especially those connected with sexuality, were preserved, the pandemic will reduce drastically. The fight against teenage pregnancy must be a collective effort,” she said.
Laudable concept
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Good will Ambassador, Madam Catarina Furtado, in her remarks, described the youth assembly as a laudable concept that needed to be replicated in other countries.
She said giving the youth such platforms to debate and offer solutions to issues, such as their reproductive health, was a step in the right direction.
She said the issue of teenage pregnancy was a dramatic topic for the girl child and there was the need for all stakeholders to come on board to offer their resources to fight it.
Need support
The Chief Director at the Central Regional Coordinating Council, Mr Duncan Opare, called for more support from the UNFPA in dealing with gender issues in the country.
He said at present, there was a competition for early motherhood in the region such that a lot of the youth saw the urgent need to have children and that was creating a problem in the region, and more especially in the rural areas.
“There is a belief in early motherhood leading to all kinds of teenage pregnancies in the region. In Cape Coast, it is a big problem and it has also given the men the chance to take advantage of our young girls, and poverty is also another factor,” he said.
