RISE-Ghana, with support from UNICEF-Ghana and Social and Behaviour Change (SBC), has organized a learning festival to promote Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (ASRHR) in emergency settings.
The festival, held under the theme “Advancing Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights within the Sahel and Other Emergencies in the Upper East Region,” brought together stakeholders from the Bongo, Bawku West, and Kasena Nankana West districts.
The aim of the festival is to foster stronger coordination and sharing of best practices and lessons on adolescent safeguarding, nutrition, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) service delivery in emergency settings. Awal Ahmed Kariama, the Executive Director of RISE-Ghana, spoke about the event.
According to Awal Ahmed Kariama, the festival has set the stage for enhanced collaboration and knowledge-sharing among stakeholders, paving the way for better Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights service delivery in emergency settings.
“The forum today provides a platform for sharing best practices. What is Bongo doing very well in these three domains that Kasena Nankana can learn from? What is Kasena Nankana doing very well that Bawku West can learn from? How can the three districts learn from each other? This will help them better deliver inclusive services to adolescents during emergencies. We are focusing particularly on nutrition, safeguarding, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights.”
Participants from the Ghana Education Service, Ghana Health Service, Department of Children, Social Welfare, and the Birth and Death Department were all enthusiastic about the project and pledged to work with RISE-Ghana to improve the situation.
While underscoring the importance of the project, Rose Akanson, the Girl Child Education Officer with the Ghana Education Service, lamented the rising rates of teenage pregnancy among students in recent times. Mrs. Akanson called on all relevant stakeholders to take more action to address this issue.
Adolescents are among the most vulnerable groups in fragile and conflict settings. They represent 23% of the population in the least developed countries, where most humanitarian emergencies occur (UNICEF, 2019). Additionally, children under 18 years accounted for 52% of the refugee population in 2017, up from 41% in 2009 (UNHCR, 2018).
With nearly 168 million people in need of humanitarian assistance globally, approximately 20 million are adolescents and young people. Despite their significant numbers, adolescents’ needs often go unaddressed in humanitarian settings, including their sexual and reproductive health needs (Plan International, 2019).
Recent emergencies, such as COVID-19 and the Sahel violent extremist-related crises, have led to an influx of asylum seekers into several host communities in the Upper East Region.
Source: A1Radioonline.Com | 101.1MHZ | David Azure | Bolgatanga
