By Gilbert Azeem Tiroog
Bolgatanga, July 14, GNA – A non-governmental organisation, the Youth Harvest Foundation Ghana (YHFG), has called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) and religious bodies among others to collaborate and intensify Reproduction Health Education (RHE) in Basic Schools.
This, the organization noted, would help reduce teenage pregnancies, minimise child marriage, limit Sexually Transmitted Diseases and enable adolescents in particular to make informed decisions that would help their career and personal development.
Ms Priscilla Nyaaba, the Executive Director of YHFG, made the call when she addressed stakeholders meeting in Bolgatanga, on finding and dissemination of a research conducted by the YHFG in two districts each in the Greater Accra, Ashanti and Upper East Regions.
The research was to find out whether parents and teachers supported the implementation of Reproductive Health Education (RHE) in basic schools and at which levels.
The engagement formed part of a five-year Reproductive Health Education project being implemented in 11 communities of two Districts in the Region, the Bawku West District and the Kassena-Nankana Municipal with funding support from Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RSFU) in Sweden.
According to Ms Nyaaba, the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) document that was introduced in 2019 met with great opposition from various stakeholders and halted its implementation.
She said while it was important to acknowledge that some elements did not meet the acceptable societal norms in the Ghanaian community, it was crucial that stakeholders were engaged on the way forward.
Mr Dominic Anarigide, the Project Officer, YHFG, presenting the findings of the research noted that the research sought to investigate the personal and environmental determinants of parents’ intention to support RHE implementation in basic schools in Ghana.
Additionally, it was to find out the factors that could influence teachers’ intentions to support the implementation of RHE in basic schools.
The findings revealed that over 90 per cent of parents and teachers from each of the two districts of Greater Accra, Ashanti and Upper East Regions where the research centered supported the implementation of RHE in basic schools.
Ms Augustina Dechegme Achigibah, the Programme manager of YHFG, noted that though the findings could not be generalized to the larger population, there was an overwhelming support for the implementation of RHE in upper classes of basic schools provided it conformed to cultural beliefs.
Ms Priscilla Lisa Tanbesagr, a Bolgatanga Girl Child Officer of the Ghana Education Service (GES), said the implementation of RHE in basic schools was fundamental to safeguarding the future of the younger generation, adding that it was only when they were educated that they could make appropriate decisions regarding their sexual life.
Sheikh Abu-Baka Sadiq Abdul-Rahaman, a participant, noted that it was important religious bodies and other stakeholders were engaged to examine the content of any policy document in relation to sex education before its introduction into the schools for a full cooperation.
GNA