‘Give adolescents information on sexual health’
The Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Ebenezer Appiah-Denkyira, has called on religious and faith based organisations, schools and communities to mentor adolescents.
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Speaking at a two-day workshop on adolescent sexual health and reproductive issues for media practitioners in Accra, Dr Appiah-Denkyira stressed that a lot of changes go on in the minds and bodies of adolescents which they regularly need information on.
“Information is very critical to adolescents; unfortunately that is what they do not have during that period. He pointed out that where the adolescents get the information from and who will mentor them is important but these are what they do not get”.
He, therefore, called on traditional authorities, especially queenmothers, to play the role of mentors to adolescents.
“The churches, religious and faith based organisations also need to help adolescents to understand what is happening to their bodies through mentoring,” he said.
Media personnel, Dr Appiah Denkyira said it was important for journalists to grasp information on adolescents very well so that they could relay it to the youth to appreciate and understand very well.
Explaining the reason for the workshop, Dr Edward Antwi said the GHS wanted allies to provide the right information to adolescents to enable them to make responsible decisions about their sexual health and other reproductive issues.
“Adolescence is a special stage which requires that they are guided in order to make the right choices, and it is for this reason that the GHS wants to make the media its partners in championing adolescent health programmes,” he added.
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For his part, the Director, Finance and Administration at the National Population Council, Alhaji M. Lawal Musah, disclosed that a new policy is currently being developed to cater for adolescent sexual health and reproductive issues in the country.
He said work on the policy, which started in 2000, was almost done and would be ready by the end of the year.
The new policy, he said, aside from helping adolescents to take responsible decisions regarding their sexual reproductive health, would also assist the nation to know for instance the number of schools, hospitals and children which would be available for the youth in future.