Teenage pregnancy over the years in the Bosome Freho’s abrupt escalation has become a major concern and challenge to the people of the district.
The district is rated amongst others in Ghana where teenage pregnancies increase every year.
The challenge in the Bosome Freho District as a result has called for the intercession of government and Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the fight against the canker (teenage pregnancy).
In relation to the challenge, a consortium of two Non–Governmental Organizations(NGOs), thus Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR) and Rights and Responsibilities Initiatives Ghana (RRIG) have collaborated to fight against the undesirable teenage pregnancy via the implementation of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education Project (CSEP) funded by the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) the in the Bosome Freho District.
“We are here to educate our dearest teenage girls on teenage pregnancy and as well fight against it in this Bosome Freho District”. Ms Aba Oppong, Executive Director of the RRIG revealed during the inception and Orientation Meeting on ARHR/UNFPA at Asiwa, the District capital of Bosome Freho, under the Comprehensive Sexuality Education Project (CSEP).
The RRIG and the ARHR have targeted to train about 20,000 dropped out of school adolescent facilitators who can read and write, aged between 10 and 19 in what is called Peer Champions, to participate in the Comprehensive Sexuality Education.
The peer Champions after the training would serve as ambassadors of the ARHR and the RRIG to champion and educate their peers on the adverse effects of teenage age pregnancies in their communities.
“We believe that adolescent peer understands themselves much better than their parents. Therefore, our interest is that the Comprehensive Sexuality Education will empower them to know their rights as adolescent girls. As young girls in this district they have rights that they should be very aware of.
We hope that teenage pregnancy would be reduced completely by the end of this project. This is the reason why we are specifically enrolling them in the project”. Ms Rachel Afia Karikari of the ARHR has stated.
The project according to the NGOs will last for 3 years or more. Meanwhile, representatives of the Ghana Health Service) in the district have pledged to assist the NGOs to a successfully implement the project (Comprehensive Sexuality Education).
The district director of education Mr. Clement Nti- Boateng in an interview indicated that, “We are ready to give out every aid to the NGOs to battle the menace; we cannot do it alone in this district. I believe through the intervention of the NGOs we can fight against the numerous teenage pregnancies”.
A lot of the people in the district have embraced the project. They have commended the ARHR and the RRIG for their quest to educate the adolescent girls through the eradication of the over burdened teenage pregnancies in the district.
By: Joe Marfo/ghcurrentissues.com
