The North of Ghana, popularly called, refers to the 5 regions in Ghana’s upper basin. Relatively, the poverty level in Northern Ghana is high compared to the middle and southern belts. With a buoyant youth population, the North has the high potential to reverse the poverty situation through demographic dividends, however, most young people are faced with health, education and gender equality challenges. In recent years, problems with sexual and reproductive health (SRH), especially among adolescents and young people, have taken an alarming turn. These include early unintended/teen pregnancies, early and forced marriages, new infections of HIV and other STIs, and sexual and gender-based violence among others
These obstacles not only endanger young people’s health and education but also diminish their chances of making a positive impact on Northern Ghana’s development. It is already difficult for the region’s youth to reach their full potential and take part in the socioeconomic development of their communities due to the region’s poor health, education, and poverty situation, and these SRHR problems further exacerbate their plight.
UNESCO under its health and wellbeing domain is providing support to help young people realise their full potential and make meaningful contributions to the development of their communities. Specific focus is placed on improving health, education, and gender equality outcomes. Norsaac, a youth-focused national Civil Society Organization is one of UNESCO’s partners with a mutual aim of enhancing adolescents and young people’s access to good quality context and age-appropriate education/information and SRH services to enable them to make informed decisions towards addressing their SRH challenges.
The annual Northern Ghana Regional Adolescent and Youth Health Forum (NORGA), organised by Norsaac together with partners like UNESCO, is one such effort. NORGHA provides a forum where adolescents and young people discuss among themselves, and identify and implement initiatives to improve their sexual and reproductive health and rights. By bringing together professionals in the fields of health, education, and social services, the forum provides a platform for youth to network with those in positions of responsibility and encourages them to work together to find solutions to SRH issues.
From September 2nd through the 4th, this year’s NORGA will place, marking the fifth edition of the event. Over 500 young people from all over Northern Ghana will come together for this event, making it a hub of healthy, informed, empowered, and positive dialogue.
Addressing sexual and reproductive health in the Northern Region:The UNESCO NORSAAC solution
