By Ewoenam Kpodo, GNA
Ave-Dakpa (VR), July 27, GNA – Adolescents have been urged to treat their teenage years with caution, with adolescence being compared to “an egg” that can crack instantly from a single mistake.
This came up during an engagement with adolescent boys and girls at Ave-Dakpa in the Akatsi North District under the project, “The Clinic Is Yours,” an open day clinic, to invite adolescents and the youth to visit health facilities for free access to youth-friendly services.
It was organised by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency in collaboration with the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), which is also a leading volunteer-supported non-governmental organisation, focused on providing comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) information and services to young people in Ghana.
Madam Rosemary Addeh, the Midwife and In-charge of the Ave-Dakpa Health Centre, who facilitated the engagement, said adolescence was a period of rapid physical and brain development between childhood and adulthood, typically spanning the ages between 10 and 19 involving the search for social independence.
“Adolescence really is as fragile as an egg, and a single mistake can alter a young person’s future instantly.”
She explained that curiosity, peer pressure, and the desire to fit in made teenagers vulnerable and that the “egg once broken” by a crisis such as an unplanned pregnancy, the effects on a young person’s education, health and future were difficult to reverse.
The session highlighted the physical, mental, and social toll of teenage pregnancy, with other health risks cited including anaemia, malnutrition, early labour, and low birth-weight babies, because of immature physical development.
She said mentally, young mothers faced stress, depression and stigma, while socially many dropped out of school and faced long-term financial hardship.
To “handle the egg safely,” adolescents were advised to practice open communication with parents, seek comprehensive reproductive health education, set clear life goals, and build self-
esteem to resist risky situations. They were also encouraged to use youth-friendly health services.
“When you access phone, use it for something profitable not pornographic materials. Also, access youth-friendly services. Get close to health workers on any information on SRHR, do not ask around to be deceived or misinformed as that can land you in trouble,” Madam Addeh advised.
“Consider the clinic (health facility) as yours. Spend this time building yourselves for a brighter future. Practice abstinence for that is the sure bet,” she added and noted that “while family planning methods can prevent pregnancy, they do not protect against sexually transmitted infections, which may even be more dangerous than the pregnancy,” Madam Addeh advised.
During the interactive session, some of the adolescents asked tough questions, wanting to know if the burden of teenage pregnancy was equal for boys and girls.
They were told that while boys may face psychological effects, the physical, social, and economic impact on girls was far heavier.
Others asked what could be done if a parent pushed a girl to “sleep around for money for housekeeping?
The responders advised that in such cases it could be reported to Coordinators of the School Health Education Programme (SHEP) in schools or to the health Centre for action.
Mr Delali Alex Dwomoh, the Physician Assistant and In-charge of Ave-Dakpa Health Centre, also addressed the group, assuring adolescents that health workers would not judge them.
“Take whatever you were told seriously. We will not be judgmental but will help you as young people to reach your full potential,” he assured them.
Mr Emmanuel Christopher Makam, the PPAG focal person for UNFPA Adolescent Girls Empowerment Project and Gender-based Violence Scale Up project for Volta Region, said the engagement formed part of ongoing efforts to equip adolescents with knowledge and support systems to navigate adolescence safely.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, some of the participants expressed their appreciation of the ‘egg’ analogy, saying it opened their understanding to the fact that a single wrong decision could break everything.
They also re-echoed their appreciation of the assurances from the facilitator that they were welcomed to talk to health workers without fear, and the advice that abstinence was truly the safest way for them now.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/ Christabel Addo
Reporter: Ewoenam Kpodo, GNA
Email: [email protected]