06/04/2014
PRESS RELEASE
GOVERNMENT MUST IMPLEMENT ITS DECISION TO INTRODUCE CONDOMS TO SHSs WITHOUT DELAY
Government’s proposal to distribute condoms to SHS is laudable and must be implemented without further delay. Such a decision comes at a time when the evidence about adolescent s*xual reproductive health and HIV/AIDS speaks volumes in support of such a critical and bold step. The high rate of teen pregnancy, rising levels of unsafe abortions among teenage girls (with consequential health and psychological damages), the increasing number of young people living with HIV/AIDS (estimated 5.4million worldwide) and the rate at which teen girls are dropping out of school due to preventable pregnancies must not continue under the guise of a moralistic society. As stakeholders of ASRH we view this as a critical decision and urge government to implement it urgently in the light of available evidence. It is necessary in creating the needed enabling environment for improving adolescent s*xual reproductive health (ASRH) in Ghana.
The LODARMAH as an adolescent-focused organization wish to reiterate that government’s decision is not only timely and supported by the evidence in ASRH/HIV but also responds to conscious efforts needed to improve the SRH and overall socio-economic development of adolescents in Ghana. The LODARMAH fully supports this proposition in the view that the following benefits will inure for the good of adolescents generally:
• The timely introduction of condoms in SHS offers a practical boost to the long-sought integrated approach towards stepping down HIV/AIDS among young people (estimated 45% of new HIV infections occur among young people between 15 and 24). It is a relevant step to diversify wisely available options necessary to support critical decision making in adolescent s*xual reproductive health and HIV/AIDS.
• It is also required to respond to the growing rate of teenage pregnancy among teenage girls in Ghana generally and in school contexts in particular.
• It is key to consolidating and advancing gains in preventing and reducing STDs (including HIV/AIDS) among young people in Ghana
• The move is also expedient at a time when the overall fertility performance of adolescents is increasing and making it difficult to overcome other socio-economic developments among young people in Ghana including;
difficulty in bridging the gap between boys and girls in education as a result of high school dropout rates for girls due to pregnancy;
the socio-economic burdens of parenting imposed on ‘not-ready’ adolescent families and
the difficulties of improving the socio-economic conditions of young people in Ghana due to the burden of STDs (including HIV/AIDS) and unemployment attributed to poor s*xual reproductive health decisions
The LODARMAH has high hopes that government’s proposition is beneficial to see needed progress in adolescents’ s*xual reproductive health (ASRH) and overall development including:
• Expediting interventions to end intergenerational poverty mostly started and perpetuated by poor adolescent families.
• Offering multi-staged practical approaches to curb the burden of STDs, teenage pregnancies and unsafe abortions among adolescents in Ghana
• Overcoming the mostly high-risk pregnancies and unsafe abortions among Ghanaian teenage girls which attest to the need to complement our moralistic prescriptions with other wisely available options in adolescent s*xual reproductive health
• Empowering young people to take charge of their s*xual reproductive health rights in making critical decisions within a supportive social environment that makes such decisions realizable
The LODARMAH finds the initial resentments from a section of the public as unfounded on good evidence and goodwill needed for improving adolescent s*xual reproductive health. We view such resentments as idiosyncratic and intended to perpetuate the dangers of poor adolescent s*xual reproductive health for many adolescents in Ghana. The assumption that giving condoms likewise s*x education to adolescents promotes indecent s*xual behaviors is not founded on evidence and is an understatement of the facts and realities in ASRH. These assumptions further deviate from both logical and factual conclusions that must be derived from the realities in ASRH in Ghana. Studies by the UNESCO for example points out that introducing adolescents to contraceptives including condoms in no way correlates with indiscriminate s*xual activity among adolescents. The LODARMAH argues that, poison is openly available in the open market in Ghana but in the light of economic and social pressures, Ghanaians are not drinking poison and such a logical analogy may equally guide the introduction of condoms among SHS youngsters.
We view such resentments and opposition as deliberate attempts to violate the s*xual reproductive health rights of young people in Ghana in the name of idiosyncratic beliefs and convictions. The non-guarantee of young peoples’ s*xual reproductive health rights in Ghana is having dire consequences on young people in diverse areas of their development. It is detrimental for our current youthful population and the future of young people to come.
The LODARMAH as a grassroots adolescent-focused organization would want to reiterate this call by government and urge it to stamp it with the deserving commitment in order to make it practically realizable. The decision is both timely and critical to bring landmark improvements in young peoples’ s*xual reproductive health, rights and overall development.
We charge government to complement this decision with well-structured Guidance and counseling services that prioritize adolescent s*xual reproductive health of young people in Ghana.
For more information or copies of the LODARMAH’s brief contact Nelson O. Ntiamoah (ED) on 0208451929 or 0246257722
