Abstain To Prevent STI Infections – PPAG
By Christopher Tetteh, SYDA
Sunyani, Oct. 30, 2020
Abstaining from unprotected sex is the best safety precautionary measure to prevent both teenage pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).
The uses of emergency contraceptives after unprotected sexual activity only prevents pregnancy, but not sexually transmitted disease.
Mrs. Jackline Simons, a midwife and facility head at the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) said when she engaged trainees of the Sunyani Youth Development Association (SYDA).
She was speaking at the Association’s training centre in Sunyani on Wednesday during an “interactive and sensitization forum for SYDA trainees on Adolescent Reproductive Health Education and Safety Precautions”.
Some areas discussed includes personal hygiene, menstrual hygiene, uses of contraceptives, signs in ovulation period, family planning and dangers of unsafe abortion.
She implored young adults, particularly the adolescents to “better abstain from unprotected sexual activities to prevent not only pregnancies but STIs as well”.
Mrs. Simons explained aside the use of condums, the other forms of family planning methods prevents only pregnancy and not the dangerous STIs.
She urged the youth to regularly visit the PPAG facilities and other adolescent reproductive health centres for further guidance and educations on their reproductive health issues.
Mr. Akomea Sakyi, the secretary of SYDA in an interview said such health talks were vital to the Association.
He explained 90 per cent of the trainees were females with more than 70 per cent of them being young single parents, hence the need for such interactions to ensure the trainees were abreast with adolescent reproductive health matters.
Some of the trainees expressed sadness that they did not have such education at their early adolescent stage.
Mary Gati urged the Association executives to frequently organized such talk for them to learn more about their reproductive health and issues.
SYDA
