A human right activist and the Chief Executive Officer of Global Media Foundation (GLOMEF), Raphael Godlove Ahenu, has observed that addressing sexual and reproductive health needs of young adults was key to achieving sustainable development.

Mr. Ahenu who was speaking at a community forum on sexual reproductive health at Asukese in the Tano North District, therefore appealed to government to ensure that all young people and adolescents, easily accessed comprehensive health and sex education, to enable them make informed choices.

The forum was aimed at engaging opinion, traditional and other religious leaders, to promote the rights of women to access safe and legal abortion services.

It was organized by GLOMEF, a Ghanaian human rights and anti-corruption media Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), with support from the Safe Abortion Action Fund (SAAF), in line with the NGOs three-year project it is implementing in about 15 communities in the region.

The project is aimed at helping young people in the beneficiary communities, to easily access sexual reproductive health care services.

According to Mr. Ahenu, the forum also formed part of activities designed by the NGO to mark this year's international Day of Action for Women's Health, on the theme "Fulfill Women’s Right to Health, Dignity and Bodily Integrity- End Violence against Women in All its Forms".

He stressed that young people and adolescents, particularly girls, needed to be empowered meaningfully, to enable them to engage in the decision-making processes that affected their lives.

Mr. Ahenu said, the forum, to be replicated in other communities in the region, was also to increase public awareness on adolescent health issues, and mobilize citizens’ support for the campaign.

The campaign focuses on institutional violence, denial of access to safe and legal abortion services, forced and coerced sterilizations, obstetric violence and the denial of access to contraceptives and emergency contraception of women.