The Executive Director of the Youth Advocacy on Rights and Opportunities (YARO), Douri Bennin Hajei, has called on parents and opinion leaders to stop the stigma against youth who access reproductive health and family planning services.

The stigma he said makes it difficult for the youth to access these services and end up with dire consequences such as teenage pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

He said most people who defame youth accessing reproductive health and family planning services are close relations, urging them to avoid such.

The Director said this at a media engagement on implementing a youth-led Social Accountability Mechanism on youth access to reproductive health and family planning services.

Douri Bennin Yajei said YARO is implementing these activities in 28 health facilities in four Municipalities in the Northern Region.

The project aims to improve youth access to reproductive health services and family planning.

The Municipalities are Sagnarigu, Nadowli Kaleo, Yendi and Sisala East.

Douri Bennin Hajei said youth awareness of reproductive health in these regions is very low, something YARO is working tirelessly to improve.

In their desire to reduce the rate of stigma related to youth accessing reproductive health and family planning services, he said that YARO is using a community scorecard to implement this project.

This, he said, provides YARO and its partners the opportunity to understand the challenges the youth go through when accessing reproductive health and family planning services at various health facilities across northern Ghana.

The Director called for improved private structures at health facilities where the youth can go and access reproductive health and family planning services without being stigmatised.

He also called on the media to help educate parents and opinion leaders to avoid stigmatising the youth in their quest to access reproductive health and family planning services.

YARO is a youth, women and child-centred NGO interested in addressing adolescent reproductive health and family planning challenges in communities and funded by a USAID project called the Momentum Country and Global Leadership (MCGL).