By Solomon Gumah/Rahina Abdul-Rahman
Tamale, Nov 21, GNA – A day’s consultative stakeholders’ engagement to strategise on enhancing advocacy on issues of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) has been held in Tamale.
The engagement, attended by key stakeholders including some traditional leaders, health professionals, the media, school mentors, parents and guardians, pupils among others, was to plan and come out with the right mapping for effective and sustainable advocacy campaign on SRHR.
It was also to provide the platform for participants to share their experiences, knowledge, struggles, and resilience highlighting the urgent need for supportive policies and interventions on SRHR.
It was organised by Songtaba, an NGO, as part of its implementation of a three-year strategic project dubbed: “Building Resilience, Inclusive Development and Gender Equity (BRIDGE PROJECT)” with funding support from Amplify Change.
The project is being piloted in the Sagnarigu Municipality of the Northern Region targeting four communities including Sognayili, Youngduni, Kumbuyili and Kalpohin.
Madam Rafia Abdul-Rauf, Community and Youth Engagement Officer at Songtaba, speaking during the forum, said it was to map out various influencers, allies, and other partners in the communities to enable them to understand their roles and commitments in promoting SRHR to facilitate the effective implementation of the project.
She said the project would focus on increasing access and awareness creation on SRHR for young people including persons living with disabilities whilst empowering individuals and communities to advocate for their reproductive health rights and services.
She said the project would equip and build the capacity of health care providers to enable them render services to young people devoid of discrimination and to ensure that their confidentiality was respected.
Madam Fadila Fuseini, Executive Director of Tiyumba Hope Foundation, an NGO, said issues on SRHR required mutual partnership and collaboration with communities and other stakeholders
to ensure that more awareness was created on issues of child and forced marriage, rape, teenage pregnancy and violence against women and girls.
She called for more commitment from government and other stakeholders to support vulnerable groups and to ensure that their voices were heard for inclusive national development.
Miss Abdulai Martina Chentiwuni, a student of Saint Charles Lwanga Junior High school, lauded the project, saying it would help many adolescent girls in and out of school to appreciate their reproductive health rights.
GNA