Promoting  sexual and reproductive health education among youth in  cocoa growing communities

Access to sexual and reproductive health information is critical for the economic well- being of youth in cocoa growing communities. The lack of it is impacting negatively on the youth increasing their risk of early pregnancy.

The MASO programme has therefore taken steps to ensure participating youth have the right information and attitudes to make conscious, healthy and respectful choices about relationships, sex, and reproduction. Both young men and women are trained to know they have a right to decide on their sexual life.

A gender analysis conducted at the inception of the programme revealed teenage pregnancy was prevalent in the cocoa-producing communities, and they youth lacked basic information about their sexuality.

As a result, MASO as part of its life skills curriculum introduced reproductive health education for the youth. The training is a structured learning about sex and relationships in a manner that is positive and focused on the best interest of the youth. The youth are expected to take the best sexual decisions that allow them to develop their economic skills through MASO.

Training of community facilitators

All participants in the MASO programme empower the youth with knowledge, skills to enable them to realize their health and well-being depends on taking respectful sexual decisions.

The next level is to train community facilitators to become peer educators. The training is done by health facilities located in or near the communities. The relationship with the health facilities is to ensure they provide youth-friendly information as well as render other reproductive health care services.

A facilitators training was held recently for a group of young people from Assin Atentan in Central region on sexual and reproductive health.

The Head of the Youth and Adolescent Health Care Centre of the Assin Fosu Polyclinic, Madam Gloria Lartey who was the resource person for the workshop spoke about sexual and reproductive health and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

She noted the youth may lack knowledge on reproductive health issues to help them make the right decisions. Adding, training their peers can enable them seek information when they need it.

A participant, Yaw Poku, described the workshop as timely.  He said, “the young in our communities are sexually active, but their knowledge of sexual and reproductive health is quite limited. So they become parents at a very young age. If they have the right information, I am sure they will make the right sexual decisions”.

Story by Hannah-Joy Amissah