By Anthony Apubeo, GNA
Bongo (UE), Dec 9, GNA – Ms Georgina Aberese-Ako, the Upper East Director of Department of Children, has attributed high incidence of adolescent reproductive health challenges to increasing parental neglect and lack of effective communication in many families.
Most parents shirk their responsibilities as mentors and guardians, and also fail to pay the desired attention to the growth, development and progression of their children.
This, Ms Aberese-Ako, said often exposed children, particularly girls, to peer influence and adversely affect their future as some of the teenage girls get pregnant alongside and drop out of school.
She said this in Bongo when the Department of Gender and Children under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, engaged parents on the implementation of Parents Advocacy Movement (PAM).
The PAM which is an initiative of the Ministry is part of a three-year advocacy project that seeks to address reproductive health challenges confronting adolescent girls.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is funding the project being implemented in six districts across the Upper East Region which includes Bongo, Kassena-Nankana West, Bawku West, Builsa South, Talensi and Nabdam Districts.
The implementation is being carried out in collaboration with the Girl Child Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service.
According to Ms Aberese-Ako, Upper East and Northern regions top the national table on child marriage with 28 per cent which, she blamed on lack of effective communication between parents and their children.
She said effective communication with children would enable the children to learn more about their reproductive health rights issues and take precautionary steps where necessary.
The critical development period of girls is between 10 and 18 years which, the Director called for parents to play the “crucial role of effective communication” in order to prevent children from making wrong choices that would destroy their future.
She also called on parents to be more concerned about the progress of their adolescent children, especially girls, and offer them the needed advice to abstain from early sex, early marriages, and child labour and teenage pregnancies.
Mr James Twene, the Acting Upper East Regional Director of Department of Gender, stated the objective of the project to include: contribute to the elimination of socio-cultural barriers to reproductive health rights and prevent teenage pregnancies and child marriages.
As part of the advocacy and education strategies, the Department with support from UNFPA has engaged 144 parents in the six districts on effective way of communicating with children.
It is expected that the recipients would transfer the knowledge acquired to their colleagues in their respective communities.
Also 35 Chiefs and elders and 720 men and boys from some communities have been trained and empowered to help curb challenges confronting adolescents while 360 teenage girls have also been mentored.
GNA
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