Kokonpe (near Tema)-Ghana, Dec. 1, – The Kpone-Katamanso Municipal Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Services (GHS), in collaboration with the Community 25 chapter of the Rotary Club, has observed the 2023 Adolescent Week at Konkonpe within the Kpone-Katamanso municipality of the Greater Accra Region.
The 2023 Adolescent Week celebrations were under the theme “Every adolescent counts as accessible healthcare for all,” with the aim of ensuring every adolescent received equal healthcare within their various communities.
Dr. Priscilla Esther Biamah-Danquah, Kpone-Katamanso Municipal Director for Health Services, stated that it was the duty of the Municipal Health Directorate to bring health services to the doorsteps of the people.
She revealed that some health facilities within the municipality now have adolescent centres where adolescents could go and seek quality healthcare services.
According to the municipal health director, adolescents must not feel shy about discussing their various health complications with the nurses, saying the nurses would ensure the right thing was done.
Dr. Biamah-Danquah again noted that some schools within the municipality have “adolescent c corners,” stressing that adolescents must not be cagy with information that would need rapt attention as far as their health is concerned.
She further appealed to civil societies and benevolent organisations to assist the various adolescent Conners with equipment for administrative and record-keeping purposes.
Ms. Henrietta Agyeiwaa, Kpone-Katamanso Adolescent Health Nurse, stated that the Municipal Adolescent Conner wants to maximise the potential of the adolescents in order to make them self-reliant.
Ms. Agyeiwaa further revealed that many adolescents, especially girls, were lured into having sexual intercourse, which resulted in unwanted pregnancies, hence the need to build their capacity so they are able to say no to premarital sex.
According to the adolescent health nurse, all stakeholders needed to marshal resources to help protect the adolescents and overcome their challenges, saying the municipal health directorate is doing all it can to reduce teenage pregnancies within the municipality.
Mr. Jonathan Biaku, president of the Community 25 Rotary Club, who chaired the event told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the community 25 Rotary Club would continue to support the Kpone-Katamanso health directorate as far as adolescents health was concerned.
Mr. Biaku stated that children were more exposed to dangers in the various communities and that parents, families, and guardians must be on guard to ensure the youth have a better future.
He said Kpone-Katamanso was a peri-urban municipality faced with numerous challenges, including poverty and other social vices. He added that the lack of parental care also resulted in a lot of undesirable circumstances.
Over 200 students from some selected schools within Kpone participated in the 2023 Adolescent Week celebration at Konkonpe.
The Ghana News Agency observed that the participants were taken through the process of making detergents and other household groceries to build their capacity for a better future.
