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Communicate with your adolescent children to prevent early exposure to sexual activities- Parents advised
The Director of School Health Education Programme (SHEP) under the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mrs Theresa Oppong has called on parents to supervise and communicate with their adolescent children to prevent them from being initiated into sexual activities by their peers at an early stage.
According to her, the lack of such supervision and communication coupled with negative parenting contributed to the adolescents being initiated into sexual activities by their peers and added that it could disrupt their education.
She reiterated the need for parents to actively play their role during their children’s adolescent stages to help shape them to secure a better future for them.
Mrs Oppong made the call in a speech read on her behalf by Mr Godfred Ceaser, the Eastern Regional Coordinator of SHEP during this year’s Adolescent Advocacy Week celebration organised by the Family Health Division of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in collaboration with MARIE STOPES, a non-governmental organisation that advocated Choices among adolescents and the Ghana Education Service (GES) at Krobo Odumasi in the Eastern region.
The celebration was to commemorate the annual Adolescent Health Week by campaigning for an inclusive society that met the needs of Adolescents as they transitioned to adulthood and to educate adolescents
on reproductive health issues.
Mrs Oppong indicated that the adolescent stage came with a lot of challenges and decisions that required useful information to enable them to thrive and called on parents to play their role effectively.
She said as part of efforts to improve life skills and behaviour change among adolescents, the GES has integrated Adolescent Reproductive Health issues across subjects in the curriculum of senior high and basic schools to provide knowledge, skills and attitudes required to help them cope with the challenges of their stage and also promote healthy living and responsible adulthood.
“We have also set up school health clubs, and mentorship programmes where queen mothers have a critical role to play especially in life skills and value inculcation and many other interventions and so parents also have a role that they need to play in the socialization of the child,” she said.
For her part, the Eastern Regional Director of Nursing Services (DDNS), Ellen Darkoa Asare said, the adolescent stage was a very critical stage of self-discovery where the adolescent formed habits that could shape their lifetime, adding, that it was a time when students navigated through academic challenges, formed friendship and made decision that impacted their health and wellbeing.
She said the celebration of the week allowed stakeholders to appreciate the uniqueness of that phase and to reflect on the importance of the well-being of the adolescent and called on all stakeholders including parents to help the adolescent by providing the right guidance and support to create an environment where they felt safe, understood and encouraged to make healthy choices.
She called on the management of basic and senior high schools to encourage open conversation about health, address questions students may have and ensure that they are aware of the resources available whether through sports, clubs, counselling sessions, or educational programmes to support them to thrive.
The Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) successfully held its sixth (6th) Exchange Programme, hosted by the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) Bank in Accra from March 22 to 23 March.
The event brought together member institutions, partner organisations and Ghanaian public entities to advance dialogue on South-South trade, investment and development finance, while also creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation.
Organised as a capacity-building and networking platform, the 2026 edition of the G-NEXID Exchange focused on GEXIM’s experience in developing innovative solutions to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
It also highlighted trade and investment opportunities in Ghana, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and broader national development initiatives.
The Exchange Programme forms part of G-NEXID’s mandate to foster cooperation among export-import banks and development finance institutions in support of South-South trade and investment.
This 6th edition follows earlier successful programmes hosted by India Exim Bank (2016), BNDES (2017), Indonesia Eximbank (2018), Afreximbank (2019) and Saudi EXIM Bank (2025).
On the first day, participants were presented with G-NEXID institutional information and received an update on the Network’s 2026 work programme.
There were a series of substantive presentations, including an overview of the Ghanaian economy by the Ministry of Finance, with particular attention to debt-related challenges; a presentation by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities in the country; and institutional presentations by GEXIM and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) on their respective mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Discussions during the sessions underscored strong interest in sector-focused webinars and business dialogues, particularly in agribusiness value chains such as poultry and rice.
Participants also emphasized the importance of continued information exchange and the sharing of best practices, especially in the area of guarantees.
The second day opened with a presentation on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a national economic transformation strategy launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025.
The initiative aims to enhance economic productivity through continuous industrial activity, accelerated export development and strategic import substitution.
As the programme is expected to mobilise both private and development capital, it presents concrete opportunities for G-NEXID members in areas such as co-financing, guarantees, trade finance and technical cooperation.
The programme also featured institutional presentations by guest organisations, namely the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which shared their mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Following these exchanges, the G-NEXID Secretariat held bilateral discussions with both institutions as part of the Network’s ongoing membership drive.
Participants further benefited from a presentation by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), as well as a showcase of GEXIM’s key pipeline projects.
On the margins of the Exchange Programme, G-NEXID members also held their 20th Annual General Assembly Meeting to review progress and discuss strategic priorities.
Following the event, participants joined the GEXIM@10 International Conference, held from March 24-25, 2026 under the theme, “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”
The conference provided an important platform for exploring how Ghana can strengthen its transition from a primary commodity exporter to a more competitive player in value-added trade and industrial development.
Source – G-NEXID
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, signed five bills including three amendment bills passed by Parliament into law.
They are: Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025; University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Bill, 2025; Ghana Deposit Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and Education Regulatory Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
In a brief remark after assenting to the bills, President Mahama explained that the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026, scraps the Office of Minister of National Security and frees the President’s to appoint any Minister to supervise the security agencies.
He said it also reverses the name of the office of National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to the original name, Bureau of National Intelligence, (BNI).
This the President said, addresses the confusion between that security agency and a well-known Ghanaian financial institution, the National Investment Bank.
President Mahama also noted that the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026, establishes another University in the Eastern Region, at Bonsu, with three campuses – the main campus at Bonsu in the Eastern Region, with the second campus to be cited at Ohawu in the Oti Region.
The third, the Presdient assed will be located at Acherensua in the Ahafo Region.
Touching on the Amendment to the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, the President said, “As you’re aware, the act was amended to increase it from 1% to 3%, and so this act reduces it again. That is the levy on mining companies. It reduces it again to 1%, because of the introduction of the sliding scale of royalties.”
He also spoke to the passage of the Government Education Regulatory Bodies Amendment Act, emphasising that amends Act 1023 to grant greater flexibility to private tertiary institutions and the option to Charter.
The Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Act, the President concluded, is an amendment to an original act that was supposed to guarantee deposits held in commercial banks or financial institutions.
It basically expands protection to include mobile money wallets and other digital platforms, ensuring a wider scope of digital financial assets are secured.
The signing ceremony, was witnessed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akrutinga Ayine, Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and a Special Aide to the President, Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, and the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
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