Global Media Foundation (GLOMEF), a media advocacy organisation, has called on opinion leaders in Brong-Ahafo to promote healthy reproductive issues among the youth in the region.

Addressing some selected opinion leaders in a training section organised by the organisation, Victor Fosu Boamah, Director of Operations of GLOMEF, disclosed that the rate of abortion in the region had increased among girls between the ages of 15 to 17 in the region.

Mr Boamah called for a legislation to remove the code that criminalises abortion.

He also urged the opinion leaders to do their part in dealing with the stigma that is associated with abortion.

A nurse at the Sunyani Municipal Health Directorate, Sarah Agyapong, explained that reproductive health is a holistic approach, comprising of physical, mental and social well-being. She again disclosed that a major cause of maternal mortality is a delay in making decisions.

She seized the opportunity to appeal to men to be actively involved in issues of reproduction and reproductive health.

Participants were advised to use contraception and opt for safe abortion procedures when there is a need to undergo an abortion.

An estimated 22 million unsafe abortions take place worldwide. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), unsafe abortion accounts for 13 percent of all maternal deaths.

Abortion related deaths could be prevented through sexual education, timely care for complications and use of effective contraception.