Gaps in youth health services: Over 40% of adolescent health corners lack essentials
An assessment by two Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) has revealed that more than 40 per cent of Adolescent-Friendly Health Corners (AFHCs) in nine regions lack essential personnel, infrastructure and visibility, undermining the effective delivery of adolescent-focused health services.
Conducted by ActionAid Ghana (AAG) and the Young Urban Women Movement (YUWM), the report said the persistent gaps in the functionality and distribution of AFHCs threatened progress in tackling teenage pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and other youth-related health challenges.
At the presentation of the key findings at Abesim last Monday, the National Organiser of YUWM, Winifred Acheampomaa Appiah, said the study evaluated the operational status of AFHCs designed to serve adolescents aged 10 to 19, a group she described as a vital and transformative segment of the country’s population.
Assessment
The AAG and YUWM assessment covered nine regions: namely, Greater Accra, Volta, Oti, Eastern, Bono, Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West.
Participants in the presentation of the key findings
The overall objective was to assess the distribution and operational status of AFHCs in the selected regions and advocate their revitalisation and equitable expansion.
Additionally, it was to assess the quality of services provided in existing AFHCs, including infrastructure, service utilisation and adolescent engagement and identify districts that lack AFHCs and explore barriers to establishment.
The report said Ghana’s Adolescent Health Service Policy and Strategy (2016–2020), reaffirmed in the National Adolescent Health Guidelines (2021), required the establishment of adolescent-friendly service points at all health facilities at multiple levels of the health system, including Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds.
The report further indicated that many sub-district facilities had no adolescent service points.
Worrying
The situation, Mrs Acheampomaa, who is also the Bono and Ahafo Regional Chairperson of YUWM, said, was worrying and weakened national efforts to improve reproductive health outcomes among young people.
She said the study, which focused on adolescent girls and boys, was intended to support adolescent and feminist youth-led movements in defining and leading advocacy for AFHC revitalisation, using participatory and intersectional engagement strategies.
Mrs Acheampomaa explained that ActionAid, district health directorates, and facility heads provided technical support during data collection.
Policy framework
For her part, the Bono and Ahafo Regional Financial Secretary of YUWM, Mary Donkor, said the assessment examined the number and distribution of functional and non-functional AFHCs.
She said it also examined infrastructure, logistics and location friendliness, staffing levels, training and outreach activities and service utilisation by adolescent girls and boys.
Apart from that, Mrs Donkor said the study examined availability and accessibility of contraceptives; data on teenage pregnancy and STIs and adolescents’ knowledge on STI types, prevention and symptoms, adolescents’ sense of safety and satisfaction with services.
She said beyond mapping facilities, the initiative included an advocacy strategy aimed at mobilising resources, strengthening policy prioritisation and supporting implementation.
Mrs Donkor emphasised that ensuring functional and accessible adolescent-friendly services was critical to addressing teenage pregnancy, improving reproductive health outcomes and safeguarding the well-being of young people across the country.
