Chiraa Methodist JHS Makes Progress In Teenage Pregnancy

Chiraa Methodist Junior High School in the Sunyani West District of the Brong Ahafo region for the past two academic years has not recorded any case of teenage pregnancy.

This year, eleven BECE candidates from other schools at Chiraa got pregnant but again Chiraa Methodist JHS did not record any case.

The Headmaster of the School, Steven Owusu Asamoah who announced this attributed achievement of this result to an educational campaign being embarked on by Global Media Foundation on access to comprehensive reproductive health information and services for young people in Ghana.

Global Media Foundation (GLOMEF), human rights media advocacy with support from Safe Abortion Action Fund is currently implementing a project aimed at increasing young people access to safe abortion and contraceptive services in the Brong-Ahafo region.

Mr Owusu Asamoah was speaking during the quarterly sensitization forum organised GLOMEF for members of its Adolescent Reproductive Health Club at the Chiraa Methodists Junior High School.

According to the Headteacher, Chiraa community has been the leading the teenage pregnancy league table in the Sunyani West District for some years now .

Records have shown that every year substantial number of Basic Education Certificate Examination candidates in Chiraa got pregnant before writing their final examinations.

Those who feel shy after pregnant either drop out of school just after taking seed or drop out after writing their final examination.

The Senior Girls’ Prefect of the Chiraa Methodist JHS, Ruth Kyeremaa, says the education by GLOMEF had gone down well with the students. She noted that access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health rights information and services for the adolescents in Ghana is very crucial, adding "duty bearers needs to put in place measures that would help save the adolescent from unwanted pregnancy.

The founder/CEO of GLOMEF, Raphael Godlove Ahenu pointed out that building the capacity of young people to advocate on their own behalf is an important step towards achieving sexual and reproductive rights for all youth.

As part of its activities nationwide, his NGO would collaborate with both public and private institutions and organizations to develop and deliver information and advocacy skills training to youth activists who are working at the grassroots level on sexual and reproductive rights issues.

According to Mr Ahenu, establishing public-private partnerships to strengthen service quality and accessibility for young people, such as social marketing, social franchising and demand-side financing is very important.