Gender Department Holds Parents Engagement Session on Misinformation and Disinformation on Reproductive Health

The Department of Gender in collaboration with the Ada West District Assembly (AWDA) on Tuesday, 10th November 2026, held Parents Engagement session in Wokumagbe Electoral Area in the Ada West District.

The program which was aimed at strengthening collaboration among key stakeholders to support the wellbeing of young people within the communities especially in the areas of reproductive health and gender based violence was sponsored by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) through the collaboration with the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council and was to create a participatory platform for parents to share experiences in reproductive health education especially with the focus on the adolescent girl child.

Madam Matilda Banfro, the Greater Accra Regional Director of the Department of Gender, in her address indicated, that “young people in Ghana face significant challenges in accessing accurate information and services related to Reproductive Health Education (RHE) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) as required, to be able to make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health” and added that “resistance, especially from parents, continue to limit the effectiveness of interventions and efforts put in place by institutions such as the Ghana Health Service and Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Department of Social Welfare and Civil Society Organizations”. This resistance, Madam Banfro said was often driven by misinformation, cultural norms and fears that reproductive health education encourages early sexual activity and therefore, the engagement session was necessary and essential to build trust and to improve understanding with parents as those who play central role in shaping the lives of young people.

Madam Matilda Banfro also spoke about gender based violence and cautioned parents to educate their wards to desist from sharing nude pictures of friends for purposes of blackmail and as well be cautious about how they exposed their nudity which may find their ways on social media and the implications thereof. She took her time to talk about the types of violence namely; physical, psychological and emotional among others. On the issues of rape, all speakers cautioned parents to desist from settling such issues home as such conducts constitute criminal offence and the law must be allowed to hold those culpable for such actions responsible to serve as deterrent to others and further added that shielding such crimes would only embolden others to visit same on the innocent young girls.

Madam Antoinette Da-Rocha, a representative from Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), Accra, who made a presentation on Reproductive Health Education urged parents to have time with their children and know their concerns and as well urged parents to communicate with their children freely on reproductive health so that they don’t instead rely on others for such information which sometimes may lead them astray. Madam Da-Rocha said that in discussing issues about reproductive health with the girl-child, parents should be able to talk plainly when they had to talk for instance about the reproductive organs such as the vagina or the penis and be emphatic about what the adolescent especially girl-child needs to know and understand about them in relation to reproductive health. She also urged parents to be responsible for the needs of the girl child so they were not taken advantage of by those they sought help from in the absence of parental responsibility and control.

Mr. Phillip Dotse, the Head of the Ada West District Social Welfare and Community Development Department in responding to some concerns raised about family planning urged parents to ensure that child birth was properly planned so that children were given birth to at the right time and that family planning education should not be misconstrued as if someone was fronting for any organization in furtherance of its business. Mr. Dotse therefore said, that it was only through effective communication that couple would be able to agree on a particular decision relative to family planning, be it the natural way or the artificial way and encouraged couple to open up on their communication in that regard and for the benefit of the girl child.

Madam Rebecca Efua Anamam who represented the Ada West Health Directorate also clarified some misconceptions on family planning and urged parents to open up to health workers and they would be advised on what to do and added, that often times some people had underlying conditions, and like any medication, when they experienced any challenges with family planning protocols in their conditions, they were tempted to have negative thoughts about family planning and that should not be the case. With regards to young girls, Madam Rebecca said that what the girls would not tell their parents, they shared with health workers and indicated that the girls were experimenting with their lives the wrong way and that the time to seriously address issues of reproductive health is now.

The Parents Engagement session organized by the Department of Gender with over one hundred and twenty (120) parents participating with representatives from sixteen (16) Churches was also attended by some traditional leaders, Unit Committee members, some Teachers, Youth groups representatives, People Living with Disabilities (PWDs) representatives and the Assembly Member for the Area (Hon. Francis Tetteh Alimo) who coordinated the program.