Curbing reckless sexual lifestyle among youth: Role of accurate information

Christabel is a teenager at Brabedzi in the Cape Coast metropolis in the Central Region.

She says she is committed to abstaining from sex until she is responsibly married.

However, to her, if ever she decided to agree to any sexual activity she would certainly use a condom. 

"I am not having sex now. I know the benefits of abstaining and I choose abstinence. But if ever I decide to have sex I will not have unprotected sex.

Christabel is only one of the many adolescents at Brabedzi who have resolved to be responsible with their sexual lives.

The farming community of Brabedzi, according to its assembly member, Paul Nat Amissah, struggles with teenage pregnancy.

That meant that these young people were having unprotected sex and that exposed them to all manner of sexually transmitted infections.

The Brabedzi-Koforidua Nyinasin assembly member, Paul Nat Amissah, said many of them became drop outs and struggled to find direction in life.

However, he said the establishment of a girls clubs which targeted adolescent education on sexual and reproductive health education had steadily improved the incidence of reckless sexual escapades among the adolescents in the community.

The girls clubs are established under the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana's Power to Choose project to empower young people to adopt safer and responsible sexual behaviours.

What was good about these clubs he indicated was the fact that it consciously included the boys.

"Certainly the project in the area has significantly minimised teenage pregnancy," he stated.

The seven-year funded project by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) through OXFAM is to address barriers that hinder young women and adolescent girls’ access to quality sexual and reproductive health and rights. 

Before the project, it was common to see teenagers pregnant in the community.

Now the project has really impacted the adolescents in the area.

Mr Amissah said teenagers cohabiting has greatly reduced.

"Our adolescents, I can strongly say, have become more responsible," he added.

The girls’ clubs are where adolescents between 20 to 30 sit together to discuss sexual and reproductive health issues affecting them.

There are four adolescent clubs serving Brabedzi in the Cape Coast Metropolis which include two in-school and two out-of school clubs.

They are facilitated by peer educators with their activities coordinated by youth champions.

Boys inclusion 

Boys are also invited to the meetings.

The peer educator and youth champions use the community information centres to actively deploy the youth to educate the communities.

She said the careless lifestyles had reduced noticeably.

A Youth Champion at Brabedzi, Lydia Tannoh, aged 19, said the Power to Choose programme has helped reduce stigma about sexual and reproductive health education.

"The most important achievement for us I believe is the fact that the youth have knowledge of risky sexual lifestyles and are ready to abstain from such lifestyles or at least protect themselves.”

Lydia said they were impressed with the gains made so far.

She said young people constantly approached them for advice on responsible sexual behaviours.

A peer educator, Evelyn Nana Enu, said at the club meetings members were to abstain from sexual activities until they were old enough.

Those who were sexually active were encouraged to protect themselves.

According to the Central Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Richlove Amamoo, the region recorded 8006 teenage registrants at healthcare facilities in the region in 2023.

Of the figure, 587 were between the ages of 10 and 15 years.

She said every effort at reducing teenage pregnancies was commendable.