Tamale teachers receive reproductive health training

Teachers from 10 schools in the Northern Region have been trained on how to teach comprehensive reproductive health.

They received the training from a Tamale based NGO, the Savanna Signatures.

The aim is to help educate teenagers at the junior high schools (JHS) about their bodies and the impact of early sexual activities on their lives.

The training is under the NGO’s teacher facilitation training of ‘My World and My Life’ (MWML), which is being piloted in some schools to equip the beneficiary teachers with skills to teach sex education.

Mr Stephen Agbenyo, Executive Director of Savanna Signatures speaking at the opening of the one-week programme advised participants to freely discuss issues of reproductive sexual health with their pupils saying, “The more we don’t tell them the truth about sex, the more they want to explore”.

He said the NGO would continue to embark on projects that would help improve the welfare and smooth growth of younger persons.

The MWML is a comprehensive reproductive sexual education curriculum developed for pupils from 10-14 years as well as a 14 lesson curriculum comprising sexuality, human feelings and body changes, sexually transmitted infections prevention methods and future plans.

The programme is being piloted in four schools in the Tamale Metropolis and five in the East Mamprusi District where some 18 teachers are being trained with some officials from Ghana Health Service and Ghana Education Service so as to make the programme effective.

Ms Alhassan Fousia Tuah, Project Manager of Savanna Signatures said the training of the teachers had become necessary because they are in direct contact with the children all the time.

She said though they are trained teachers they need to receive capacity building in facilitating lessons in their schools in line with the NGO’s aims and objectives to help the programme to succeed.

Madam Sanderijn Van Der Doef, a master trainer of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights from the office of Rutgers WPF in the Netherlands talked about the importance of sex education among young ones especially those at the JHS who are sexually active.

Mr Abu Musah programmes coordinator of ASEG a partner NGO of the project lauded the project, which is being adapted from Uganda and told the participants of the enormous benefits that would be derived directly and indirectly from the MWML.

Credit: GNA