Youth Advocates Ghana (YAG) with support from Marie Stopes International (MSI), in partnership with Ghana Health Service strengthen the capacity of 25 adolescent champions from the two implementing regions, Northern and Upper East regions of Ghana, on reproductive health education to lead advocacy at the community level.

The capacity strengthening workshop, a part of the Youth for Health (Y4H) co-funded by the European Union, was carried out from Thursday, June 22 to Friday, June 23, 2023, in Tamale, the Northern Region of Ghana.

The participants for this workshop were carefully selected from Nanumba North, Saboba, Nanton, in the Northern Region, and Bolga East, Binduri and Bongo in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

The workshop seeks to strengthen the capacity for adolescents on reproductive health education to enable them lead reproductive health advocacy in their various communities.

It also seeks to expand access to discrimination free adolescent sexual and reproductive health services in the selected implementing areas.

Adolescent champions expressed their appreciation for the workshop and pledged to work with YAG and other partners to lead advocacy in their various communities to help achieve the project goal of expanding access to discrimination free life-changing adolescent sexual and reproductive health services in their communities.

“As young people and adolescents, we shouldn’t shy away from seeking reproductive healthcare, hence this workshop has been very educative and will enable me educate my peers in my community”, noted Ms. Felicia Dramani, an adolescent leader at our capacity strengthening workshop for adolescents on reproductive health education.

“Being an adolescent leader in my community, I can say this workshop has been very educative and enlightening because I am going back to my community well vest with knowledge on reproductive health which will be passed down to my fellow adolescents to help them make informed choices”, noted Seraphina Akanda, an adolescent leader from Yarigabisi, at our capacity strengthening workshop for adolescents on reproductive health education.

The Youth for Health (Y4H) project aims to increase demand for, and access to, high-quality, discrimination-free ASRHR information and services; increase public sector willingness and capacity to deliver and sustain high-quality ASRHR information and services, and improve enabling policy and funding environment at regional, national, and sub-national level of the project.

The project builds on MSI and partners’ experience in supporting the delivery of adolescent-friendly healthcare, advocating for increased domestic funding for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and strengthening the capacity of adolescents, youth and community structures.

The Y4H project is being implemented in six countries in Africa from 2022-2025.

In Ghana, the project is implemented by Marie Stopes Ghana (MSG) and Youth Advocates Ghana (YAG) in the Northern and Upper East regions.  YAG leads on the implementation of the reproductive health education (RHE) for in-and-out of school adolescents in Ghana and contribute to awareness raising and policy dialogue on SRHR of vulnerable adolescents.