Accra, July 17, GNA - A national survey conducted on
Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health has revealed that
adolescents have little knowledge about how pregnancy occurs. About 22 per cent of females and 27 per cent of males aged
between 12 years and 19 years believed that a girl could not
become pregnant if she had sex standing up, the survey found. One in four young people, who were interviewed, believed that
a girl would not become pregnant if she washed herself
immediately after sex. Among females aged 15 years to 19
years, only 44 per cent knew that a woman could get pregnant
even if she washed herself after sex and 35 per cent indicated
that they were unsure. The report of the survey made available to the Ghana News
Agency was conducted in 2004 by two Lecturers at the University
of Cape Coast, Professor Kofi Awusabo-Asare and Prof. Akwasi
Kumi-Kyereme. The survey was conducted under the Guttmacher Institute
Project; "Protecting the Next Generation: Understanding HIV
Risk among the Youth". It was carried out in Ghana, Burkina
Faso, Malawi and Uganda with support from the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. The survey was conducted in collaboration with the
Department of Geography and Tourism, UCC and Guttmacher
Institute based in the United States and facilitated by the
Nairobi-based African Population Health Research Centre. The Report noted that about 97 per cent of the adolescents
surveyed lived with an adult, either as biological parents, a family
member or an unrelated member of a household.
The Report said 10 years after the International Conference
on Population and Development, sexual and reproductive health
issues of adolescents in the West Africa Sub-Region had
become more critical than the 1990s. "Responding to adolescents' sexual and reproductive health
issues requires new information in the areas of their current level
of knowledge; attitudes and behaviours that put them at risk for
HIV transmission, unwanted pregnancy, barriers to seeking
sexual and reproductive health information and services." By the end of 2005, an estimated 4.6 per cent of females and
1.7 per cent males aged between 15 years and 24 years in the
Sub-Region were living with HIV and about one in 10 young
women experienced premarital birth by age 20. "Given the situation, achieving a number of targets under the
Millennium Development Goals will include addressing the sexual
and reproductive health needs of young people, who are
considered as the 91window of hope' in the fight against the
HIV/AIDS epidemic.=94 In Ghana, the estimated HIV/AIDS prevalence rate among 15
years and 24 years was 3.4 per cent in 2002, and the median
prevalence rate for the adult population increased from 2.3 per
cent to 3.4 per cent. The Ghana's Demographic and Health Survey for 2003
indicated that 0.3 per cent of 15 years to19 years and 1.2 per
cent of 20years to 24 years tested positive for HIV, while the
overall prevalence among 15years to 49 years was 2.2 per cent. On contraception, the Report indicated that about 90 per cent
of adolescents surveyed had heard of at least one modern
contraceptive but did not think that providing contraceptive
methods to younger adolescents would make them
promiscuous. More than 50 per cent of sexually experienced adolescents
had used a contraceptive method and nearly half reported using
the male condom. Among those who recently had sex, 51 per
cent of the females and 64 per cent the males used
contraceptive methods prior to the survey. Self-perceived risk of HIV was low with two out of three
adolescents feeling that they were not at risk, with a higher
percentage among young adolescents than the older
adolescents. "While about 70 per cent of females and 80 per cent of males
agreed that condoms should be put on before sex, their
knowledge about its usage and attitudes towards condoms were
inadequate.=94 The Report called for the intensification of campaigns and
improvement of services that would aid the prevention of
pregnancy, unsafe abortion, HIV/AIDS and other Sexually
Transmitted Infections among young people. The campaign should also use formal and informal school
systems to disseminate detailed information about how
pregnancy occurs and how it can be prevented, while the
campaign on delayed sexual debut and pregnancy should be
intensified within the context of achieving universal basic
education. 17 July 06
