Four outstanding students have been awarded certificates of achievement as part of the Adolescent Health West Africa (ADOWA) Project’s “Adolescent Health Essay Competition.” The competition, held in April 2024, aimed to engage adolescents in discussions about issues that affect their health and well-being.
Adolescents were asked to express their views on what is needed to improve adolescent mental, sexual, and reproductive health (SRH) and well-being, and how adolescents can be actively engaged in these improvements. Out of eighty- nine (89) applicants from the four project districts in Greater Accra Region—La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipal, Ga East Municipal, Ningo-Prampram District, and Shai Osudoku District— four brilliant students emerged winners:
- First Prize Winner: David Otokunor Nii Ayi, Presbyterian Boys SHS
- Second Prize Winner: Elsie Abedi, Prampram D/A Basic ‘B’
- Third Prize Winner: Princess Debrah-Grant, Dawhenya Methodist Basic ‘A’ School, Ningo Prampram
- Fourth Prize Winner: Nana Kwaw Kum Vroom, Otinibi M/A Basic School
Adolescents’ Participation at the WAHO forum
The competition also served to select adolescent representatives from Ghana to attend a policy dialogue in Abuja, Nigeria, in May 2024. This event was attended by West African Ministries of Health representatives, civil society organizations, adolescents, and researchers. The West African Health Organization organized the forum on the sidelines of the 25th Ordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Assembly of Health Ministers. The forum‘s theme was “Improving Adolescent Mental, Sexual, and Reproductive Health and Health Systems Responsiveness to Maternal Mental Health Needs in West Africa.”
The platform allowed adolescents to engage in crucial policy discussions impacting their health and well-being. Mr. David Otokunor Nii Ayi and Miss Elsie Abedi, the first and second-prize winners, attended the forum, where they highlighted various challenges adolescents face concerning their mental health (MH) and SRH and proposed innovative solutions and strategies to address these issues. The third and fourth prize winners, Miss. Princess Debrah-Grant and Mr. Nana Kwaw Kum Vroom received cash prizes of GHC1500 and GHC1000, respectively, in addition to certificates.
Key Insights from Winning Essays
Miss Elsie Abedi emphasized the critical importance of adolescent MH and SRH, underscoring the need for government policies and interventions. “Adolescent mental well-being and SRH are often overlooked, but it is crucial to leverage policies and interventions to address them to help adolescents lead healthier and more fulfilling lives,” she stated. Miss Abedi further highlighted the lack of information on SRH and MH which contributes to increased risks of unintended pregnancies and STIs, poor decision-making, and heightened stress among adolescents.
Mr. Nana Kwaw Kum Vroom discussed cultural barriers that prevent open discussions about MH and SRH, noting that “these keep teenagers from getting the care and advice they need.” He further explained that stigma also often prevents adolescents from accessing the necessary mental and SRH services they need, “making many adolescents suffer alone.”
To address these challenges, the adolescents proposed establishing youth-friendly centres where adolescents could comfortably discuss their problems and access counseling services. They also suggested educational programs, such as the popular TV show “Yolo,” to engage young people on SRH and MH topics. Additionally, they recommended leveraging traditional and social media to promote MH education and organizing regular youth meetings and forums for open discussions.
Mr. David Otokunor Nii Ayi noted that one way to help solve some of the SRH and MH issues adolescents face is by establishing youth-friendly websites to create “safe spaces where adolescents will feel comfortable discussing their problems.”
Touching on the issue of insufficient information on SRH and MH, Miss Princess Debrah-Grant stressed the need for age-appropriate information. “Without clear and age-appropriate information on sexual and mental health, teenagers will continue to struggle to make informed choices about their well-being,” she emphasized.
About the Adolescent Health West Africa (ADOWA) Project
The adolescent essay competition forms part of the AdoWA Ghana team’s strategies to continuously engage adolescents and their communities in policies, programs, and interventions co-creation that improve adolescent SRH and MH.
Ongoing since 2021, the three-year research project is focused on promoting gender-transformative and responsive primary healthcare interventions, policies, and reforms to drive structural change for adolescent SRH and MH in Ghana, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Additionally, the project seeks to co-produce contextually and culturally relevant interventions with adolescents, frontline health workers, and policymakers.
In Ghana, the project is being implemented by the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Dodowa Health Research Centre, and the Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR) across four districts: Ga East, Shai Osudoku, La-Nkwantanang Madina, and Ningo Prampram. The initiative is a collaborative effort between AdoWA-GTR, which focuses on gender-transformative health systems, and AdoWA-REP, which focuses on responsive and efficient primary care for adolescents. The project is jointly funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) under Grant No. 109808 (AdoWA-GTR) and the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) under Grant No. MR/T040203/1 (AdoWA-REP).
The research team is grateful to stakeholders from the Ghana Education Service (GES) and Ghana Health Service (GHS) for their crucial roles in the competition and selection of winners and for their valuable contributions to shaping the ADoWA research project. We are also most grateful to the adolescents who shared their perspectives about their SRH and MH needs and suggested ways to improve services.
