WORKSHOP ON ADOLESCENT REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH HELD AT BECHEM

The Tano South District Directorate of the department of Social Welfare and Community Development has organized a one day workshop on  Adolescent Reproductive Health for  head porters in the Tano South District at Bechem. The programme which saw the head porters drawn from all parts of the district was also attended by pregnant women from Bechem and its environs.

    

Resource Persons and  participants in a group photograph

In an opening address, the Tano South District Director of Social Welfare, Mr. Samuel Kyeremeh said the Ghana Government in collaboration with a non-governmental organization in the United Kindom (Futures Group U.K currently known as paradium) has introduced the Adolescent Reproductive Health as a social intervention programme in the Brong Ahafo Region on the importance of family planning.

                                    

The Tano South District Director of Social Welfare, Mr. Samuel Kyeremeh giving his opening remarks

Miss Stephanie Boafo an Assistant Director IIB of the Tano South District Assembly who stood in for the District Coordinating Director of  the Assembly, Mrs. Agartha Ahia said kayaye (head porters) and young women go through a whole lot of problems when carrying out their daily activities and said the programme will help the vulnerable people in the district to know the importance of family planning. She said women contribute a lot in the socio economic development of every country and urged women to send their children to school for them to become good leaders in  future.

                                     

Miss Stephanie Boafo speaking at the workshop.

On teenage pregnancy, Miss Eirene Obeng-Asare who took participant through the topic said teenage pregnancy which is an unintended pregnancy of an adolescent takes place after the start of puberty where mensuration is experienced by the girl child and urged adolescents to be cautious of their dealings with men.

                                       

Miss Eirene Obeng-Asare making a presentation at the workshop

Miss Asare gave a number of factors including lack of parental control as some of the causes of teenage pregnancy and mentioned that some of the western culture which are copied by our girls does not do them any good but rather harm them and did not complete her topic without mentioning peer influence which she said was a major cause of the girls copying what their fellow girls were doing by going into sexual relationship to feed themselves.

On the female genitile mutilation, Miss Bevelyn Blankson mentioned female mutilation as the process of removing the total external genitalia of female especially girls for non-medical reasons.

                                     

                                     

Miss Bevelyn Blankson speaking at the function

She said this process has a lot of effects on physical, sexual and psychological health of the female and urged participants to advise the public to desist from such practices.