By Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu
Bolgatanga, July 04, GNA -Health workers across the Upper East Region have undergone specialised training to enhance the delivery of adolescent-friendly health services in health facilities, schools and communities.
The training, organised by the Regional Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), targeted community health nurses, midwives and mental health officers with the aim to strengthen their capacity to respond effectively to the unique health needs of adolescents.
Madam Dora Kulariba, the training Programme Officer, said the two-day training was designed to equip participants with the knowledge and practical skills needed to provide quality adolescent-friendly services, including Safety Net interventions, mental health support and psychosocial services for pregnant adolescent girls.
She said: “We are building the capacity of community health nurses, midwives and mental health officers so that they can offer services tailored to meet the needs of adolescents in their facilities.
“We want to reach pregnant adolescents wherever they are. While it is important for them to visit health facilities, we also want to reach them in schools and communities through adolescent clubs so that we can provide targeted services, including support group meetings and psychosocial support.”
Madam Charity Tanni, a facilitator, explained that participants were taken through the various stages of adolescent development to help them better understand the physical, emotional and social changes young people experience to enable them to provide appropriate support at every stage of development.
She said the training also focused on integrating adolescent-friendly services into existing healthcare delivery systems, particularly in facilities with limited infrastructure.
“We are showing them how they can use the little space they have to organise services and provide the care adolescents need. They can integrate these services into what they are already doing,” she explained.
Beyond health facilities, the programme seeks to expand access to adolescent health services through schools and communities, as participants were trained to establish adolescent health clubs in schools and community-based groups to reach young people who were out of school or engaged in apprenticeship programmes.
The training also covered the proper use of adolescent health registers and reporting tools to strengthen documentation, monitoring and reporting of services provided to young people.
Madam Tanni stressed that the programme was necessary because some attitudes displayed by health workers, though often unintentional, could discourage adolescents from seeking healthcare.
“Sometimes, certain attitudes unknowingly drive adolescents away. By giving health workers this training, we help them understand what is expected of them and make them aware of actions that may prevent adolescents from accessing services,” she said.
She added that the programme further exposed participants to the full range of services adolescents should receive, enabling health workers to provide more comprehensive, responsive and youth-friendly care.
Madam Tanni urged participants to apply the knowledge acquired by strengthening collaboration with parents, guardians, teachers and community leaders to improve adolescents’ access to quality healthcare.
The workshop featured facilitators from the Regional Health Directorate, including Madam Gifty Nyaaba, a Public Health Nurse, and Madam Gifty Polycarp, a Mental Health Officer.
A participant, Ms Susana Kombat, a midwife in the Bawku Municipality, described the training as timely, beneficial, knowledge refreshing and enhanced participants ability to provide appropriate adolescent-friendly services.
She expressed appreciation to the management of the Regional Health Directorate and UNICEF for supporting the training, noting that the knowledge gained would contribute significantly to improving adolescent healthcare delivery across the Upper East Region.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu
Email: [email protected]