By Tilda Acorlor
An NGO, Savana Signatures through its Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) has organized a districts level workshop for 142 teachers and officials of Ghana Education Service in the South and Central Tongu District of the Volta Region.
The Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop was aimed at increasing in-school adolescents’ access to accurate age-appropriate Reproductive Health Education (RHE) and develop goals that will shape their lives and well-being.
Reproductive Health Education (RHE) is designed to contribute to the reduction of pregnancy, school dropouts, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS, and promote adolescent agency in taking responsibility for their growth and well-being.
The District Director for Education at the Ghana Education Service, (GES) Madam Happy Tsafiekor has confidence that when adolescents are impacted by the right Reproductive Health Education they will be firmed in making decisions that will shape their careers and focus on their studies,
“the adolescent stage of every human is crucial to the rest of life development and essential life skills and information must be introduced within the Ghanaian culture and setting that help to shape their development and career path.” She said.
“Through the YEP, some adolescents are able to be vocal and firm in making decisions that support them to abstain from sexual activities and focus on their studies,” she added.
The trained teachers from GES will conduct circuit-wide and school-level step-down training for other teachers across all public schools in both districts. This is part of the sustainability measures to ensure adolescents in all public Junior High Schools in both districts continue to access reproductive health education.
Again, trainees RHE facilitators were introduced to Savana Signatures SHE+ Toll free numbers 0800 00 11 22 which provides access to reproductive health and Gender-Based Violence information, counseling and referral services to health facilities and other social justice institutions in both districts. Each call placed through the toll-free number to access services comes with no cost to the caller.
The YEP was piloted in 6 schools in the South and Central Tongu District in 2020 and since has been scaled to 136 public Junior High Schools in the districts.
The project is supported by UNESCO Ghana and partners through Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future (O3 Programme).