NGOs educate Tamale girls on sexuality

Some young girls in the Tamale Metropolis have been introduced to the offices of Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) and Marie Stoppes International to serve as their reliable sources of information on sexual and reproductive health issues.

The exposure visit was also to build a link between the girls and the two institutions for solidarity and support in their activities related to young women and friendly sexual reproductive health services and facilities.

PPAG and Marie Stoppes International are non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in sexual reproductive health rights and family planning activities.

This formed part of a three-year project dubbed: “The Young Urban Woman: Life Choices and Livelihood” which is being implemented by ActionAid Ghana and the Northern Sector Action on Awareness Center (NORSAAC), both NGOs, with funding from the Norwegian Development Agency.

Personnel from PPAG and Marie Stoppes International took turns to educate the girls on family planning methods and sexual and reproductive health issues to help them to lead informed lives to prevent teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

About 40 girls aged 15 to 25 years drawn from various suburbs of the Tamale Metropolis including Bulpela, Nalung, Kakpagyili, Banvim, Tuutingli, Kpanvo, Dabokpa, Kalariga and Vittin benefited from the programme, which was held at the weekend in Tamale.

Madam Melody Azinim, Project Officer in-charge of “The Young Urban Woman: Life Choices and Livelihood” of ActionAid Ghana, who briefed the Ghana News Agency, said it was to enhance the economic, sexual and reproductive health rights of participants to enable them to have control over their bodies.

Madam Azinim said the project, therefore, aimed at supporting and empowering young women to effect changes in their own lives, families, communities and other different levels of government to ensure that their sexual and reproductive health rights were increasingly realized.

Miss Mohammed Rukaya, a student and one of the beneficiaries from Tuutingli suburb said the lessons learnt would guide young girls to make life choices that would help prevent teenage pregnancy, which was on the increase in the area.

Miss Alhassan Alimatu Suhuyini, a student beneficiary from Bulpela suburb was convinced that the knowledge gained would help to prevent sexually transmitted infections.