Background
In Ghana, contraceptive use among adolescents is low and many young people lack accurate and adequate knowledge about their sexual and reproductive health and rights. This combined with high teenage pregnancy and abortion rates shows that there is a need for sexual and reproductive health services targeting young people.

About the project
This project was created to increase adolescents’ access to youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services in the town Kenyasi, in western Ghana. The project team arranged group discussions with local youth in order to understand their needs, and held information sessions with health workers to boost their knowledge on adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health. A youth-friendly corner was then established at the Kenyasi health centre and the nurses and midwives began providing counseling and family planning services for adolescents twice a week. Clients with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were referred from the youth corner to the health centre for treatment.

Results
By the end of the project, the number of youth registered to access sexual and reproductive health services increased from 195 to 1318. Since then, two additional youth corners have been established in the district and the services have been expanded to also include post-abortion care. Between the end of the project (in 2007) and 2011, 4165 adolescents received counseling. In addition to this, 860 young people were HIV tested, 840 received contraceptives and 539 were treated for STIs.

Year: 2006