At a National Stakeholders Co-Creation Forum, adolescents voiced serious concerns about the lack of privacy and confidentiality in school sickbays—an issue they described as critically undermining their access to essential mental and sexual, and reproductive health (AMSRH) services.
The forum, convened at the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons in Accra, brought together health experts, civil society organisations, and policymakers under a collaborative research initiative led by the Dodowa Health Research Centre (DHRC) and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons and supported by the Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR).
Presenting findings from studies conducted across four districts in the Greater Accra Region, Dr. Emelia Afi Agblevor, Post Doctoral Researcher, highlighted adolescents’ lived experiences gathered through focus group discussions and Rich Pictures. Her presentation revealed how stigma, breaches of confidentiality, and financial barriers deter adolescents from seeking care.
A particularly troubling insight was the widespread mistrust adolescents feel toward school-based counselling systems. Despite the presence of safe spaces and peer support frameworks, adolescents reported that teachers often fail to maintain confidentiality, with some even disclosing sensitive information to colleagues or during classroom discussions. “It makes us not to want to talk at all,” one adolescent shared.
Other challenges discussed included:
- The stigma and shame associated with teenage pregnancy often result in isolation or punishment rather than support.
- Financial barriers that prevent access to healthcare, especially in under-resourced schools.
- Limited access to trained mental health professionals and counsellors in both school and community settings.
- The inadequate state of adolescent corners or safe spaces, especially for out-of-school youth.
- Concerns over how parents respond to academic failure, often neglecting the underlying mental health dimensions.
- The value adolescents place on receiving accurate sex education from parents and teachers over peers suggests a need for structured, age-appropriate family life education.
Mr. Michel Adu Amenah, Research – Health Economics, highlighted structural inefficiencies in primary health care (PHC) facilities that prevent them from adequately meeting the AMSRH needs of adolescents. His assessment revealed that many facilities lacked the appropriate equipment and infrastructure to deliver comprehensive adolescent care. Overall, PHC facilities assessed were rated at a moderate 50 to 60 percent in terms of their capacity to provide holistic AMSRH services.
Amid these challenges, discussions at the forum also explored how Theatre for Development (TfD) could be used to engage adolescents and communities in shaping responsive interventions. By using storytelling and drama, the TfD approach offers a culturally resonant way to address taboos, build empathy, and co-create solutions with youth.
As Prof. Irene Agyepong, the Principal Investigator, noted in her closing remarks, “We cannot design health systems for adolescents without them. Their voices must be central, not peripheral, in shaping policy and services.”
The Stakeholders Forum served as a pivotal step in that direction. It reminded all present that while systemic reform is complex, it starts with listening to the ones who matter most, the adolescents themselves.
