Health personnel operating in the Northern Region have asked to sit up, as over 302 women died in the region through maternal mortality, between 2007 and 2009. According to the Northern Regional Health Promoter, Alhaji Abdul-Rahaman Yakubu, 183 out of the number were young ladies, between the ages of 20 and 34. Alhaji Yakubu, who attributed the unfortunate situation to the lack of sex and reproductive health education, encouraged parents and religious leaders to freely educate their children on sex-related issues, so as to complement the efforts of health personnel. He bemoaned the rate at which sex and sexuality education were viewed as myths and taboos in most Ghanaian cultures, and perceived as sacrilegious, and not to be discussed among young people. The Northern Regional Health Promoter revealed this at the launch of the Innovative Sexuality Education Project (ISEP), initiated by the Northern Sector Awareness Centre (NORSAAC), a gender-based advocacy non-governmental organisation (NGO), in Tamale recently. The launch of the project was on the theme: "Promoting sexuality education at all levels - an effective approach to achieving MDGs 4 and 5." The project, which is being implemented by the NORSAAC, with support from Action Aid Ghana, is being funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) at the cost of US$254,000, and seeks to educate adolescents on reproductive health. Alhaji Yakubu asserted that there were a growing number of pregnancies and abortions among teenagers, both in and out of school, confirming that young people were sexually active. He said that biologically, boys as young as 14 or 15 years could, and were fathering children, while girls between the ages of 12 and 14 become pregnant even before their first menstrual period. The Regional Health Promoter said the 2008 Ghana Demographic Health Survey (GDIIS) revealed a significant increase in the number of young women in the urban areas, who are giving birth. Alhaji Yakubu however, commended NORSAAC for initiating the project, and said that sexual education would help reveal risks of sexual and physical abuse, and even substance abuse among adolescents, so that they could be assisted early enough, before they go astray. The Executive Director of NORSAAC, Mr. Alhassan Mohammed Awal, hinted that about 50 facilitators, made up of 30 teachers from 15 schools, and 20 youth leaders from ten communities in the Savelugu/Nanton, Tolon/Kumbungu districts and the Tamale Metropolis, had been empowered to lead the process in schools and the communities, using dialogue-based sex education, as tools to educate the people. He said under the current ISEP Project, NORSAAC would be addressing the growing concerns of over 300,000 young people in four operating districts, adding that 50 youth leaders and teachers would be supported with logistics to educate over 250 teachers annually. The NORSAAC Director noted that young people, who fall within the ages of 10 and 20, would also meet periodically, to share experiences, and learn from one another. Mr. Awal said the 2008 Ghana Demographic Health Survey indicated that 13 per cent of women aged 15-19 were already "mothers, or pregnant "with "their first child, adding that teenage child-bearing was highest in the Northern and Central regions, with 23 per cent, and lowest in the Western and Greater Accra regions with 7 per cent. According to him, 31% of women with no formal education were more likely to have children at an early age, as against 1% of those with secondary or higher education. The Deputy Northern Regional Coordinating Director, Abdulai Zakaria, who represented the Northern Regional Minister, Moses Bukari Mabengba, commended NORSAAC for the initiative, and encouraged it to continue to complement the efforts of the government in meeting the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. He also pledged the support of the government, to ensure a drastic reduction in maternal deaths in the region, and also encourage sexual education among the youth. Source: The Ghanaian Chronicle