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General News of Friday, July 12, 2019
Source: ghanaiantimes.com.gh
2019-07-12
Community leaders were hailed for this feat
No teenage pregnancy or child marriage has been recorded in the Elmina Zongo community of the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem Municipality (KEEA) of the Central Region over the last ten years .
This achievement resulted from the collaborative efforts of community leaders led by the community's chief imam, Sheik Yahaya Shafiq, who oversaw during the period to ensure that the two practices did not occur. .
Sheikh Shafiq told the story of this success with a UNFPA delegation and UNICEF Tuesday at a meeting with religious leaders as part of a three-day tour aimed at evaluate a joint three-year program currently underway in the municipality and in 35 districts of the country.
The program "Empowering Adolescent Girls through Better Access to Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Reproductive and Reproductive Health Services in Ghana", launched last year, is funded by the Canadian government.
Sheikh Shafiq made it clear that he had intervened if the parents had attempted to give their minor children to the marriage, while he had refused to celebrate marriages between children under 18 years old.
He added that education on teenage pregnancy and child marriage was often included in sermons at the mosque and in interactions with community members, in order to understand the impact of both practices on the future. the victims.
He stated that Islam was offending teenage pregnancies and child marriages, adding that he would not be monitoring these practices, knowing that they were detrimental in the future of the victims and society.
He congratulated UNFPA and UNICEF for the various programs they have deployed in the municipality, through which community members are informed about badual health to inform their decisions.
Reverend Albert Sam, treasurer of the local Elmina Churches Council and pastor of the Victory Bible Church, said steps were being taken to integrate badual health education into the curriculum of the church. Sunday school, as part of the church's role of raising awareness.
Mr. Niyi Ojuolape, UNFPA Representative in the country, urged the community to continue to take steps to remove the barriers that prevent girls from returning to the road and help them reach their full potential.
He added that UNFPA was committed to various ongoing programs throughout the country because of the essential roles that girls could play in nation-building if they received the necessary support.
For the UNICEF Country Representative, Ms. Anne-Claire Dufay and the Director of Cooperation at the High Commission of Canada, Christian Tandif, the empowerment of girls should be the priority of all.
The team had already been to the Cape Coast School for the Deaf and Blind, where, through the UNFPA / UNICEF program, students were helped to better understand their badual health needs and get redress quickly.
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