IMPROVE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH IN KASSENA NANKANA AREA (PAGE 20)

A SURVEY conducted in the Kassena Nankana and Kassena-Nankana West districts in the Upper East Region has revealed the need for more efforts to be made to translate knowledge in sexual reproductive health into attitudinal and behavioural change.
The survey was conducted by the Navrongo Health Research Centre under its Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Project.
The objective of the survey, among others, was aimed at developing and implementing a package of interventions that would provide accurate and reliable information, skills and services for rural adolescents.
It was also to evaluate the impact of the intervention on the sexual behaviour and reproductive health of adolescents.
Presenting the findings of the study at a seminar for teachers and parents in the two districts at Navrongo, a Research Officer, Ms Matilda Aberese, said the survey was conducted in 41 junior secondary schools in the then Kassena-Nankana District, in 2006. In all, 6,977 pupils, aged between 15 and 19, were interviewed.
According to Ms Aberese, the survey indicated that over 90 per cent of students interviewed were aware of the existence of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), while less than 50 per cent knew about the existence of other STIs.
On the use of condoms, the survey said 80 per cent of males and 72.1 per cent of females interviewed knew about it as a method of preventing pregnancy.
She said the survey recommended that to make sex education more meaningful to adolescents, every effort should be made to intensify education on it and building the relevant skills among school pupils.
"This should be developed around themes such as abstinence, faithfulness to one's partner, consistent and proper use of condom, prompt and effective use of health services for preventive and curative purposes," he said.
Giving an overview of the Navrongo Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health intervention project, Ms Martha Hilla, a research assistant, said globally, young people less than 25 years constituted half of the world’s population, adding that evidence suggested that many of them engaged in risky sexual behaviours and were, therefore, at risk of getting pregnant and being infected with STIs, including HIV/AIDS.
Ms Hilla said there was a lack of evidence-based public health interventions in less developed countries that adequately addressed the Sexual Reproductive Health information and service needs of young people.
The Deputy Co-ordinating Director of the Kassena-Nankana District Assembly, Mr Mohammed Akalifa, on behalf of the District Chief Executive, Mr Emmanuel Chegeweh, commended the research centre for taking the initiative to get pupils educated on sexual and reproductive health issues.
He expressed worry at the spread of HIV/AIDS, which he said continued to exert a heavy toll on the population, especially the youth.
Mr Akalifa attributed the rise in HIV/AIDS partly to the imposition of Western lifestyles, which has led the youth into risky behaviours that predispose them to contracting STIs and HIV.
He urged teachers and parents to co-operate with the NHRC to enable them to achieve their objective.