By Emelia B. Addae, GNA
Koforidua, Dec. 29, GNA – Mrs Gifty Addo-Tetebo, Eastern Regional Coordinator for STI /HIV and AIDS at the Regional Health Directorate, has entreated nurses in the various facilities to adopt an effective approach to caring for adolescent girls when they visit the clinics.
She said the positive approach would help the teens confide in them and discuss difficult issues they face with them for a solution.
Mrs Addo-Tetebo, said this at a two- day workshop organised at Koforidua, for Midwives, and Nurses, on the Adolescent Girls Programme (AGP) funded by the Canadian Government.
The initiative is under the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) Eighth Country Programme which is hinged on three transformative results, known as the three zeros- “Zero preventable maternal Deaths, zero unmet need for family planning, and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices, including child marriage and female genital mutilation.”
The Regional STI/HIV and AIDS Coordinator said that ” when the adolescents visit the clinics, the nurses should engage them in a non-threatening discussion of topics that may be of interest to them (the adolescents) to assist them in identifying risky behaviours that may endanger their health.”
Topics treated at the workshop elaborated on Sexually Transmitted Infection case management to prevent future complications, the definitions of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), and Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP).
PrEP is a medicine that when taken as prescribed, can reduce your risk of getting HIV from an unprotected sex and injection drug use. It is effective for preventing HIV if used as prescribed.
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) refers to a short course (28 days) of HIV medicines that are taken after a possible exposure to prevent HIV infection.
She advised whoever was HIV negative to take the PrEP while those affected can use PEP to avoid replication.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei