CSOs worry about lack of sexual education
The Brong-Ahafo Civil Society Platform on Reproductive Health (BACSOP) has attributed the high rate of teenage pregnancy and unsafe abortion in the region to the lack of knowledge on sexual and reproductive health.
It said some outmoded traditional and cultural practices that discourage sexual education among teenagers ought to be abolished.
The platform noted with concern that young people hardly accessed appropriate information on sexual and reproductive health issues, and is thus exposed to sexual risks.
At its maiden meeting to elect executive members in Sunyani Mr Richard Kuunaah, BACSOP President, said because the youth had little knowledge and cannot abstain from sexual intercourse, they got infected with sexually transmitted diseases.
He stressed the need for the government and its development partners and stakeholders in the health sector to pay attention to the development of young people by opening avenues for the youth to learn more about their reproductive health needs.
Mr Kuunah said adolescent was a crucial period that could make or unmake an individual’s future since at that age teenagers are always receptive, especially sexual desires.
“Unfortunately, young people at this stage do not receive adequate guidance on sexual and reproductive health issues both in school and out-of school”, he said.
The BACSOP President noted that parents hardly talk to their young children about sex and relationships because of some outmoded cultural values that bar them from doing so.
Mr Kuunah said it was against this background that the platform had devised strategies to embark on vigorous education on sexual reproductive health in schools and appealed to the Ghana Education Service to support this worthy course .
BACSOP is a platform of civil society organizations in the Brong-Ahafo Region working in the sexual and reproductive health sector.
It works to improve the quality of life of individuals by providing and campaigning for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) through advocacy, awareness creation and information dissemination especially for poor and vulnerable people in the Brong-Ahafo Region.
Source: GNA