Dr. John Yabani, Tema Metropolitan Director of Health Services, has advised the adolescent to listen to the warnings of health officers whilst they were still healthy.

“People find it difficult to listen if nothing is happening to them. If people are sick they take instructions better,” he said.

He made this observation during an interaction with members of the Adolescent Reproductive Health club of SOS Hermann Gmeiner School, Tema as part of the club’s health week celebrations.

The celebrations which was on the theme, “Promoting behaviors and suicide tendencies: the role of the adolescent,” sought to create awareness on the causes of suicide among the youth and ways to prevent them.

Dr. Yabani, in his interactions with the children, said “the information you get today would help prevent certain diseases and situations tomorrow.”

He asked them to pay attention to health related news items so that they could prepare for health emergencies.

“When you have an emergency, your behavior should be different. You may not have to do what you used to do then because it puts you at risk. The simple skills of washing your hands always, for example, will help you so much,” he said.

He observed that the adolescent age was very important because that was the time many things get into their minds “and it was important to equip you with messages which would keep you alert so you could make good decisions in life.” 

Ms. Francisca Osei Bempah, a Patron of the Club, advised the adolescent to say no to suicide “whatever the problem we are having, ending your life isn’t the solution”.

She advised them to come out and talk about their challenges so that they were not weighed down by their problems.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Dr. Yabani said that news of teenage pregnancy and related issues come out a lot in the Tema Metropolis because adolescent programmes are well promoted by the Metro Health Directorate.

He advised parents to be alert because adolescence was a serious period for children and they should be helped to go through it successfully.