By Emmanuella Owusu, GNA
Tema, Dec. 18, GNA – Ms Esther Boatemaa Agyapong, a member of the National Resource Team for Adolescent Health, has said education on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) has been integrated into adolescent health training tools to address its devastating impact on young people.
She said the updated training content was being communicated to public health nurses and adolescent health focal persons nationwide to ensure that both in-school and out-of-school adolescents acquired the skills needed to prevent and respond to SGBV.
Ms Agyapong was speaking during a hybrid (online and in-person) discussion organised under the Peer Support Service Provider (PSSP) project to educate adolescents on SGBV and strengthen victim support mechanisms.
The health providers, during the discussion, noted that the management of SGBV was no longer treated as a one-off intervention but had become part of the minimum package of services for adolescent health, covering prevention, clinical management and long-term rehabilitation or referral.
Ms Doris Ocansey, the Adolescent Health Focal Person for the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate, said the PSSP project was designed to empower adolescents through awareness creation on sexual and gender-based violence.
She added that it also focused on adolescent reproductive health and the prevention of teenage pregnancies.
She advised adolescents on the proper use of contraceptives, explaining that apart from condoms, which provided protection against sexually transmitted diseases, other contraceptive methods only prevented pregnancy.
She further urged adolescents to stay informed about issues relating to SGBV, reproductive health for both sexes and the implications of abortion.
The programme also highlighted the importance of establishing effective linkages between health workers who provided primary medical care and community-based institutions that offered psychosocial support to victims of abuse.
Mr Benjamin Yirenkyi, a public health personnel, during a presentation on SGBV prevention strategies, introduced the “LIVES” framework for first-line support, which emphasised listening with empathy, avoiding judgement and linking victims promptly to appropriate health services.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo/Christian Akorlie