By Caleb Kuleke, GNA
Adidome (V/R), Aug. 27, GNA- The Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), has intensified education of young people on sexual and reproductive health (SRH).
The initiative specifically targets out-of-school adolescents and youth in apprenticeships.
The campaign aims to equip them with critical information to make informed choices, adopt safe behaviours, and prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that could jeopardise their health and prospects.
As part of this ongoing campaign, the Association organised a “Mobile Outreach” programme at the Adidome Zongo CHPS compound in the Central Tongu District of the Volta Region.
The programme was designed to extend essential sexual and reproductive health services directly to young people in underserved communities.
Madam Yayra Patricia Kunu, midwife in charge of Adidome Zongo CHPS compound, urged participants to prioritise regular health check-ups and seek early medical attention whenever they notice health abnormalities.
She encouraged the youth to view nurses as trusted friends, seek their medical counsel, and confide in them, assuring the participants that their health issues would be handled with the highest level of confidentiality.
The midwife noted with concern that many adolescents faced distressing health challenges but remain hesitant to speak out due to the fear of public exposure.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Madam Kunu advised adolescents to abstain from early sexual activity as the most effective protection against STIs.
She also cautioned them against self-medication, warning of its severe health risks.
For adolescents who are sexually active, she recommended staying faithful to a single partner, adopting family planning methods, or consistently using condoms to protect against infections.
Madam Kunu further urged parents to take a keen interest in their children’s reproductive health, emphasising that proactive home education was vital to keeping young people informed and healthy.
Mr Christopher E. Makam, the Project Focal Person at the PPAG for the UNFPA Adolescent Girls Empowerment Project and Scale-up Access to Gender-Based Violence in the Volta Region, urged the youth to report cases of rape and defilement to the appropriate authorities for swift redress.
He told the GNA that adolescence was a critical transition period, and adolescents were highly vulnerable to SRH challenges in this stage, requiring their protection and empowerment with accurate information to make sound life decisions.
Mr Makam exhorted the participants to let credible information guide their lives, practice self-care, and strictly avoid drug abuse and other vices that could stall their personal development.
He urged the youth to contact PPAG for free, professional sexual and reproductive health advice, and to report incidents of assault, rape, and defilement directly to the Association.
Mr Makam assured the participants that their identities would remain strictly confidential whenever such cases were reported to them.
He added that the Association would absorb all costs involved in handling reported cases, alongside covering the victims’ medical bills.
During the outreach, participants received free screenings for various conditions, including HIV, Hepatitis B, and Syphilis.
To support immediate treatment for those diagnosed during the screening, PPAG donated an assortment of essential medications to the heath facility.
The medications included Ciprofloxacin, Paracetamol, Clotrimazole vaginal cream, Flucloxacillin, Fluconazole, Doxycycline, and Metronidazole.
GNA
Edited by: Maxwell Awumah/Benjamin Mensah