Editorial
Changing the narrative of sex through sex education
Let’s make sex education compulsory
Dear Editor,
In Ghanaian society, issues relating to sex are not often talked about in our homes: Just, the mention of sex then you will see mama looking sternly at you. In some societies the mention of it is a taboo, but the question is if these issues are not addressed by our own parents, then who should we run to, to make informed decisions on sexual matters. Is it when the girl-child is being influenced by peers to practise it as a form of satisfying her curiosity? Or when the boy-child under the influence of friends practises it to show how manly he is?
This is a million-dollar question begging for an answer. According to research, comprehensive sex education, (which emphasises the benefits of abstinence while also teaching about contraceptives and disease-prevention methods) has been proven to reduce teen pregnancy and STD infection. Thus, sex education explores values and beliefs about those topics and helps people gain the skills that are needed to navigate relationships with self, partners, community and manage one’s own sexual health and to create awareness of its consequences of unwanted pregnancy, early parenting and others if not done safely.
Sex education highlights hygiene issues. It becomes more important for young people to keep their bodies clean at puberty. Comprehensive sexual education provides essential information about how people can maintain their hygiene. Since not all parents can instruct their children on these methods and may be embarrassing to talk about these issues with children. Sex education helps young people to understand what is normal. Adolescents do face a hard time when hitting puberty. They often take certain things as abnormal. Sex education helps them to understand that their body is changing physically.
In an interview with Mrs Helena Dickson, a Counsellor and Midwife with Pentecost Hospital at Tarkwa in the Western Region, she states that “not only does sex education have to be introduced at the early stage in adolescent life but its abstinence, too. She explained further that, at that stage they were so eager to engage in boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with the aim of knowing and feeling what sex entailed and this occurred because of the hormonal change in adolescents. Adolescents need to be educated about the consequences of sex so they don’t become pregnant”.
She added that this education would alert the young girls to be extra careful in their lives and slow down the eagerness to feel for sex. The education will let them know that these feelings they sometimes experience are normal but it behoves on them to control themselves not to fall into temptation.
She concluded that diversional therapy like playing football, ampe, ludo, oware and others could be introduced when they felt for sex.
In conclusion, sex education is an important aspect in every adolescent life, so parents should be open for discussion when issues about sex are introduced by their wards. It should be made a subject in the secondary school just as physical education.
Alice Mensah
Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ)
Dear Editor,
The recent shooting to death of Javits Frimpong, a 15 year old Ghanaian student in Bronx, USA, is a heartbreaking reminder that bullying should never be dismissed as a normal part of growing up.
Reports indicate that the teenager had allegedly been subjected to bullying at school before he was fatally shot on his way to class.
While investigations continue and the exact motive yet to be officially established, the circumstances surrounding this tragedy have raised serious concerns about the impact of not checking bullying.
What makes this loss even more painful is that Javits Frimpong, had moved from Ghana to the United States with hopes of a brighter future through education. Instead, his life was cut short at an age when he should have been pursuing his dreams and preparing for adulthood.
Bullying is often viewed as harmless teasing, but its effects can be severe and long-lasting. Victims may suffer emotional trauma, anxiety, depression, poor academic performance, and, in extreme cases, become entangled in violence.
This incident should serve as a wake-up call to schools everywhere. Complaints of bullying must be taken seriously, investigated promptly, and addressed decisively before situations escalate.
Parents, teachers, school authorities, and community leaders all share a responsibility to create safe environments for young people.
Open communication, counselling services, anti-bullying education, and effective disciplinary measures can help protect vulnerable students.
Equally important is teaching young people respect, empathy, and peaceful conflict resolution.
As we mourn the loss of Javits Frimpong, let us also commit ourselves to ensuring that no other child loses their life because warning signs were ignored. The fight against bullying is not merely a school issue; it is a societal responsibility.
Yours faithfully,
Dansoman
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The recent report that 294 teenage girls in the Ayawaso West Municipality failed to receive their Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is a depressing reminder of the gap between medical progress and public trust.
In a focused campaign with 997 girls the Roman Ridge Sub-Municipal Health Directorate reached a 70 percent coverage rate. Our public health professionals deserve praise for reaching 703 girls, but the remaining 30 percent pose a serious threat.
This shortfall is not due to a lack of institutional effort, logistics, or resources. The directorate had sufficient logistics, as highlighted by Public Health Nurse Patience Adoli Kporxah. Rather, the barrier was completely human: a lack of parental approval.
In Ghana, one of the top causes of cancer-related mortality for women is still cervical cancer. Ironically, it is also one of the most avoidable. The HPV vaccine is widely acknowledged as a safe, highly effective barrier that, when given early, can prevent up to 90 percent of cervical cancers.
Parents are unknowingly leaving their daughters vulnerable to a virus that they will probably come into contact with in the future by withholding approval.
This initiative was not initiated in secret by the health directorate. They coordinated with churches, mosques, and media outlets, spoke at Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meetings, and sent letters to schools as part of their broad public outreach efforts. However, around 300 parents continued to withhold their signatures in spite of these multi-dimensional approaches.
Why is this resistance still present? Fear, cultural taboos, and false information about vaccines and reproductive health on the internet are the main causes of vaccine hesitation rather than an intent to hurt a child. When a vaccination is administered to young teenagers in schools, it may cause unjustified concerns about fertility and sexuality.
Our public health initiatives need to change in order to close this gap before the November and December phases.
Letters and the mass media are important, but they are unable to provide precise, worried answers. During PTA meetings, health staff could think about holding direct question and answer sessions so parents may express their worries without fear of being judged.
In order to normalise the vaccine, community elders, religious leaders, and reputable local physicians must do more than simply impart knowledge; they must openly support it.
We must present the HPV vaccine as a standard, life-saving cancer prevention tool that is now completely incorporated into Ghana’s regular immunisation programme.
The entrance is still open, according to public health officials. Daughters who did not participate in the school-based activity can still get the vaccination at no cost by taking them to any government health institution.
We must work together to prevent cervical cancer in the future generation. The infrastructure, education, and dosages have been supplied by public health teams. The trust must now be provided by the parents of Ayawaso West and Ghana as a whole.
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