Engage parents more on CSE implementation

Alhaji Abdul-Rahman B. Yakubu, a Health Promotion Specialist, has called for deliberate effort to engage and sensitise parents on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) issues for successful implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in community and school levels.

He said if parents become more conversant with the content of CSE, through effective engagement, it would ensure its successful implementation since parents were critical stakeholders in the development of adolescents.

He said this at a forum, organised by NORSAAC, to seek stakeholders’ input to renew calls for the introduction on CSE in schools’ curriculum, in Tamale.

It was on the theme; “Reflecting on Reproductive Health Education (RHE) in Sub-Saharan Africa – a spotlight on Ghana”.

Speaking on the topic; “RHE in communities – the role of the community in the Ghanaian context”, Alhaji Yakubu said the content of CSE was not unfriendly to the development of young people in schools, adding that, adequately engaging parents would produce effective results in its implementation.

“Parents are the major stakeholders in terms of their children’s growth and development and so we need to engage them more on the why it is important to implement CSE in schools to help train the children on their sexual life,” he noted.

Dr Gifty Apiung Aninanya, a Lecturer at the University for Development Studies (UDS), said CSE was key in building the capacities of young people to understand their sexual and reproductive health issues, adding; “it will help them to acquire skills in managing responsible decisions and actions with regards to sexual and reproductive health behaviour”.

She, therefore, called on stakeholders to revisit the calls on implementing CSE programme in the country’s educational curriculum to enhance gender and reproductive health education for young people.

Professor Kobina Esia-Donkoh, a Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), said it was vital for young people to be given sufficient education on their SRHR to help build their self-confidence, and therefore it was important to implement CSE in schools.

He said the implementation would require that schools use health contents that were medically accurate, developmentally appropriate and culturally inclusive.

Alhaji Mohammed Awal Alhassan, Executive Director of NORSAAC, said it was important for policymakers to develop national reproductive health policy to inform decisions as to how children would be trained and given much information about their reproductive health system for their growth and development.