The National Population Council (NPC) has proposed an annual summit on Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH) to be held in the country, in October every year, to review progress in the implementation of the ARH programmes and activities.
A Policy and Planning Advisor at the NPC, Dr Joseph K. Amuzu, who made this known at a partners meeting organised by the council in Accra, said if the proposal was adopted by all partners, the summit would take place in the first week of October, starting this year.
The summit would serve as a platform for partners to discuss and share knowledge on best practices on adolescent health programming, build consensus, as well as seek technical and financial support for the ARH programmes.
The meeting brought together governmental, civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations involved in ARH programmes and activities.
Coordinating and networking
In a presentation, he said the proposed summit was intended to seek the commitment from government, development partners and other stakeholders towards the attainment of the goals of the NPC and the ARH policies and programmes in Ghana.
“It is envisaged that at the end of the ARH summit, coordination and networking among other partners will be strengthened,” he said.
Recommendations
Recommendations and issues agreed upon at the summit, he said, would be put together in the form of an aide-memoire and signed by all partners.
The acting Executive Director of the NPC, Ms Marian Kpakpah, said issues on ARH had been a global issue and were critical to the development of the youth in the country.
Currently, she said, the Adolescent Reproductive Health Policy adopted in 2000 was under review to ensure that the framework on reproductive health needs of the youth and adolescents were improved.
To effectively coordinate the policy and programmes, Ms Kpakpah said the summit would help to account for ARH programmes and activities and raise the profile of ARH in Ghana.
