The adolescent youth and dignitaries after the workshop
A Focal Person of Plan Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) , Mr Godsway Mensah has called on adolescents to be mindful of their reproductive health, and stay away from premarital sex particularly during social activities, and festivals like Christmas.
Mr Mensah said the youth needed to take issues relating to their reproductive health more serious, saying early sexual activities among adolescent girls and boys would not only expose them to teenage pregnancy but also both boys and girls could contract sexually transmitted diseases.
Mr Mensah made the call at the closing ceremony of 10-day workshop on reproductive health for adolescents at Adaklu-Kpetsu in the Adaklu- District of the Volta Region on Tuesday.
The workshop which was organised by PPAG for forty-six participants between the ages of 13 to 18 years was dubbed ” the clinic is yours”.
The workshop which aimed at encouraging the adolescents to take advantage of reproductive health services at the various health facilities in the District was sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
According to him, it was important for adolescent boys and girls to respect health education being offered by health experts to protect themselves and prepare adequately to face the future with confidence.
Mr Mensah explained that adolescents faced challenges of reproductive health, which led to organising the workshop to equip them to enable them to lead a more responsible lives.
He said health institutions and health related organisations had created conducive environment for young people to access youth friendly sexual reproductive health and rights to enable them to grow to be come responsible adults.
Mr Mensah assured that PPAG would continue to provide basic and timely education on reproductive to the adolescents.
He stressed that it was crucial for the adolescents to make informed decisions about their health, which could become possible through regular education that would enable them to decide as to whether they should abstain from early sex or use contraceptives.
He also urged parents to discuss sexual and reproductive issues with their children without discrimination, since girls and boys needed such education to protect themselves.
FROM SAMUEL AGBEWODE, ADAKLU-KPETSU
