Accra, July 17, GNA - A national survey conducted on

Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health has revealed that

adolescents have little knowledge about how pregnancy occurs. About 22 per cent of females and 27 per cent of males aged

between 12 years and 19 years believed that a girl could not

become pregnant if she had sex standing up, the survey found. One in four young people, who were interviewed, believed that

a girl would not become pregnant if she washed herself

immediately after sex. Among females aged 15 years to 19

years, only 44 per cent knew that a woman could get pregnant

even if she washed herself after sex and 35 per cent indicated

that they were unsure. The report of the survey made available to the Ghana News

Agency was conducted in 2004 by two Lecturers at the University

of Cape Coast, Professor Kofi Awusabo-Asare and Prof. Akwasi

Kumi-Kyereme. The survey was conducted under the Guttmacher Institute

Project; "Protecting the Next Generation: Understanding HIV

Risk among the Youth". It was carried out in Ghana, Burkina

Faso, Malawi and Uganda with support from the Bill and Melinda

Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. The survey was conducted in collaboration with the

Department of Geography and Tourism, UCC and Guttmacher

Institute based in the United States and facilitated by the

Nairobi-based African Population Health Research Centre. The Report noted that about 97 per cent of the adolescents

surveyed lived with an adult, either as biological parents, a family

member or an unrelated member of a household.

The Report said 10 years after the International Conference

on Population and Development, sexual and reproductive health

issues of adolescents in the West Africa Sub-Region had

become more critical than the 1990s. "Responding to adolescents' sexual and reproductive health

issues requires new information in the areas of their current level

of knowledge; attitudes and behaviours that put them at risk for

HIV transmission, unwanted pregnancy, barriers to seeking

sexual and reproductive health information and services." By the end of 2005, an estimated 4.6 per cent of females and

1.7 per cent males aged between 15 years and 24 years in the

Sub-Region were living with HIV and about one in 10 young

women experienced premarital birth by age 20. "Given the situation, achieving a number of targets under the

Millennium Development Goals will include addressing the sexual

and reproductive health needs of young people, who are

considered as the 91window of hope' in the fight against the

HIV/AIDS epidemic.=94 In Ghana, the estimated HIV/AIDS prevalence rate among 15

years and 24 years was 3.4 per cent in 2002, and the median

prevalence rate for the adult population increased from 2.3 per

cent to 3.4 per cent. The Ghana's Demographic and Health Survey for 2003

indicated that 0.3 per cent of 15 years to19 years and 1.2 per

cent of 20years to 24 years tested positive for HIV, while the

overall prevalence among 15years to 49 years was 2.2 per cent. On contraception, the Report indicated that about 90 per cent

of adolescents surveyed had heard of at least one modern

contraceptive but did not think that providing contraceptive

methods to younger adolescents would make them

promiscuous. More than 50 per cent of sexually experienced adolescents

had used a contraceptive method and nearly half reported using

the male condom. Among those who recently had sex, 51 per

cent of the females and 64 per cent the males used

contraceptive methods prior to the survey. Self-perceived risk of HIV was low with two out of three

adolescents feeling that they were not at risk, with a higher

percentage among young adolescents than the older

adolescents. "While about 70 per cent of females and 80 per cent of males

agreed that condoms should be put on before sex, their

knowledge about its usage and attitudes towards condoms were

inadequate.=94 The Report called for the intensification of campaigns and

improvement of services that would aid the prevention of

pregnancy, unsafe abortion, HIV/AIDS and other Sexually

Transmitted Infections among young people. The campaign should also use formal and informal school

systems to disseminate detailed information about how

pregnancy occurs and how it can be prevented, while the

campaign on delayed sexual debut and pregnancy should be

intensified within the context of achieving universal basic

education. 17 July 06