By Solomon Gumah
Tamale, Sept. 04, GNA – Ms Umar Maryam Boresa, President, Students’ Representative Council, University for Development Studies, Tamale Campus, has called for involvement of young people in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes affecting their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
She said policies and programmes designed for young people could only be effective when young people themselves are meaningfully involved in shaping them, stressing that there was need for stakeholders to create platforms that allowed the youth to express their concerns, experiences and ideas.
Ms Boresa made the call when she chaired the seventh edition of the Northern Ghana Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Conference for Young People (NORGHA) 2026, held in Tamale.
The four-day conference, organised by Norsaac, a civil society organisation, in partnership with ActionAid Ghana, Songtaba, Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems (RAINS), Oxfam in Ghana and School for Life, brought together about 400 young people from seven regions of Ghana to deliberate on sexual and reproductive health rights issues affecting the youth.
The conference provided a platform for young people, civil society organisations, development partners, government institutions, and other stakeholders to discuss challenges confronting young people and identify practical solutions to promote their health, safety, dignity, and wellbeing.
Ms Boresa said the conference was being held at a critical time when many young people continued to face challenges including teenage pregnancy, gender-based violence, sexually transmitted infections, misinformation, unequal access to health services and increasing social pressures.
She, however, noted that young people were also demonstrating resilience, innovation, and leadership by raising awareness in their communities, advocating their rights, supporting their peers, and contributing solutions to issues affecting them.
She said NORGHA provided an important platform to recognise those efforts while strengthening the collective voice of young people across Northern Ghana.
She said, “Your experiences matter. Your perspectives matter. Your ideas matter” urging participants to actively engage in the conference and contribute to discussions on issues affecting their lives.
Ms Boresa said the discussions and recommendations from the conference should not remain at the conference level but should translate into concrete actions in schools, communities, workplaces, and institutions.
She also called on government, development partners, policymakers, service providers, traditional authorities, and other development actors to continue investing in young people.
She said, “When we provide young people with accurate information, safe spaces, quality services, skills and opportunities, we empower them to make informed decisions and contribute meaningfully to the development of our communities and nation.”
Ms Boresa said the principle of inclusion remained central to NORGHA and urged stakeholders to ensure that no young person was left behind in efforts to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights.
She said there was the need to build a Northern Ghana where every young person had access to relevant information, opportunities and services that enabled them to thrive and achieve their full potential.
The seventh NORGHA conference also featured engagements on sexual and reproductive health, gender equality, online safety, peace and security, mental wellbeing, education, creative arts, entrepreneurship, and career development.
GNA
Edited by Eric K Amoh/Linda Asante Agyei
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