Midwife calls for parental support, responsible choices and stigma-free access to health services

The adolescent health agenda has received a major boost in the Upper Manya Krobo District of the Eastern Region as health authorities intensify education to empower young people with accurate information to navigate the critical transition from childhood to adulthood safely and confidently.

Ms Jennifer Dugbazah, midwife and in-charge of the Otrokper Health Centre, during a comprehensive community health engagement focused on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Ms Dugbazah, speaking on gender-based violence at a football gala organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) at Otrokper in the Upper Manya Krobo District of the Eastern Region, delivered a purposeful, science-based education on the physical and emotional transformations that characterise adolescence, emphasising that understanding these changes is fundamental to healthy development, self-esteem and responsible decision-making.

Ms Dugbazah explained that adolescence is marked by significant physical and emotional changes driven by hormonal shifts, including rapid growth, development of secondary sexual characteristics, mood swings and heightened self-awareness.

She noted that these changes, while normal, can be confusing and distressing for young people if they lack accurate information and supportive guidance.

She stressed that it is imperative for adolescents to understand what is happening in their bodies, to appreciate that these changes are natural and to learn how to manage them hygienically and emotionally. This understanding, she said, is the foundation for building confidence, preventing anxiety and making informed health choices.

In a strong call to action for parents, guardians and carers, Ms Dugbazah urged that particular emphasis be placed on personal hygiene and menstrual health of adolescents, especially adolescent girls.

She explained that poor menstrual hygiene management remains a major public health challenge that leads to infections, school absenteeism and loss of self-esteem among girls. She called on parents to create open, supportive environments where menstruation is discussed without shame and to provide girls with sanitary products, clean water and accurate information.

For all adolescents, she emphasised daily personal hygiene, including proper bathing, oral hygiene, clean clothing and care of the body during puberty, as essential preventive health measures that protect against infections and promote wellbeing and social confidence.

Addressing sexual health with clarity and cultural sensitivity, Ms Dugbazah advised adolescents to abstain from premarital sex as the most effective way to prevent sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and unintended pregnancies that truncate education and future opportunities.

Beyond abstinence, she promoted responsible decision-making, critical thinking and life skills, including the ability to resist peer pressure, say no to risky behaviours, and understand the long-term consequences of early sexual activity.

She explained that sexually transmitted infections pose serious threats to adolescent health, including infertility and chronic illness, and that prevention through informed choices is far more effective and economically prudent than treatment.

Ms Dugbazah informed participants that adolescents have a fundamental right to access accurate health information and appropriate health services without fear of discrimination, judgement or embarrassment.

She emphasised that health facilities, including the Otrokper Health Centre, are safe spaces where young people can seek confidential, friendly and professional care. Stigma and fear, she warned, are dangerous barriers that prevent adolescents from seeking help early, often leading to complications.

She encouraged adolescents to seek information from trusted adults — parents, teachers and health professionals — and to always consult qualified health professionals whenever they have concerns about their sexual and reproductive health, rather than relying on misinformation from peers or unverified online sources.

The engagement, which was organised by the NCCE in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and with financial support from Global Affairs Canada, used the football field as a platform for engagement to strengthen community awareness on Sexual and Reproduction Health and Rights (SRHR) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and continued unabated in the Upper Manya Krobo District.

Other dignitaries who attended included Ms Kathleen Addy, Chairperson of NCCE; the NCCE Eastern Regional Director Ms Ophelia Nana Yaa Ankrah and her deputy, Asesewa District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Benjamin Buxton; Dadematse and Queen Mothers, Otrokper FC and Ochirebentoa FC, among others.

The football gala forms part of the NCCE and partners' effort to continue creating awareness of Sexual and Reproduction Health and Right (SRHR) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

Ms Addy explained that the football game served as a practical civic engagement platform to bring young people, community members, parents, leaders and other stakeholders together to discuss issues affecting adolescent health and right, gender equality and the prevention of gender-based violence (GBV).

She said the tournament was not merely about competition but about demonstrating civic principles in action — teamwork, respect for referees and rules [rule of law], fair play, discipline and accepting outcomes peacefully.

The NCCE Chairperson explained that it was deliberately designed to be participatory and youth-friendly, moving civic education from the traditional durbar grounds to the football park, creating an interactive environment where civic messages on tolerance, unity and peaceful coexistence could be effectively internalised.

Ms Addy added that protecting adolescent health requires a collective effort — informed adolescents making responsible choices, supportive parents providing guidance and hygiene support, and a health system that guarantees stigma-free, youth-friendly services for every young person.

In a final match that kept spectators on edge, Otrokper FC emerged as winners of the gala as they beat Ochirebentoa FC. The teams were decorated with first-position medals and lifted the ultimate trophy amidst cheers from the community.

Ochirebentoa FC, who displayed commendable talent and sportsmanship throughout the competition, finished as runners-up and were presented with second position medals.