By Kingsley Mamore, GNA
Dambai (O/R), July 11, GNA – The Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR) has organised a regional policy dialogue in the Oti Region to strengthen collaboration among stakeholders in addressing barriers to reproductive health education and preventing gender-based violence (GBV).
The dialogue brought together representatives of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), the Ghana Education Service (GES), the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, civil society organisations(CSOs), traditional authorities, the Department of Gender, Children and Social Protection, and other key stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Nana Oye Gyimah, Communications officer at ARHR said access to comprehensive and age-appropriate reproductive health education (RHE) remained a major challenge for many adolescents and young people in Ghana due to persistent misconceptions, cultural norms, stigma, and resistance from some parents, caregivers and community leaders.
She said these barriers continued to limit open discussions on sexual and reproductive health, leaving many young people without accurate information to make informed decisions about their health and well-being.
Nana Gyimah noted that gender-based violence remained a major public health and human rights concern, adversely affecting the health, safety and socio-economic development of women, girls and other vulnerable groups across the country.
She said although Ghana had adopted several policy and legal frameworks, including the National Reproductive Health Service Policy and Standards, the Adolescent Health Service Policy and Strategy, and the Domestic Violence Act, 2007 (Act 732), implementation gaps continued to undermine progress.
She stressed the need for stronger collaboration among policymakers, civil society organisations, healthcare providers, traditional leaders and community members to improve policy implementation, strengthen accountability and promote evidence-based interventions.
Nana Gyimah said ARHR, through its Regional Sexual and Reproductive Health and Gender-Based Violence (SRH/GBV) Coalitions, had so far organised two regional policy dialogues in the Bono East and Oti regions.
Facilitating a session on reproductive health education, Madam Esther Hammond, Acting Oti Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Children and Social Protection, called for intensified collaboration to eliminate misconceptions surrounding reproductive health and encourage open, informed discussions among parents, teachers and adolescents.
She said access to accurate reproductive health information was critical in empowering young people to make responsible decisions, reducing teenage pregnancies, preventing sexually transmitted infections and protecting adolescents from abuse and exploitation.
Madam Hammond emphasised that reproductive health education should not be misconstrued as promoting immoral behaviour but rather as equipping young people with the knowledge and life skills needed to make informed choices that would positively shape their future.
She urged parents, teachers, religious and traditional leaders, health professionals and community members to work together to create safe and supportive environments where adolescents could freely seek guidance without fear of stigma or discrimination.
Participants observed that gender-based violence, child marriage and other harmful practices continued to undermine the health, education and prospects of many young people, particularly girls, making sustained public education and institutional collaboration imperative.
The dialogue adopted several recommendations aimed at strengthening institutional responses to reproductive health education and GBV prevention.
Participants called on the Ghana Health Service, Ghana Education Service and other relevant institutions to strengthen school-based guidance and counselling services by deploying trained professional counsellors to basic and second-cycle schools.
They further called for the full integration of comprehensive reproductive health education into the school curriculum, complemented by practical life-skills education to help adolescents make informed decisions, develop healthy relationships and avoid risky behaviours.
They concluded that addressing reproductive health challenges and gender-based violence effectively would require sustained collaboration among government institutions, development partners, schools, families, civil society organisations, traditional and religious leaders and community members.
The participants expressed confidence that implementing the recommendations would help reduce gender-based violence, improve adolescent reproductive health outcomes and create safer, healthier and more supportive communities for children and young people across the Oti Region.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/Kenneth Odeng Adade