This Way Up
Donor
Dance4life Netherlands/Comic Relief
Period
January 2019 – Dec. 2020
Location
Upper East Region & Northern Region
This way up
Results
Reached and empowered 4735 young people (10yrs-18yrs) including 2059 males and 2676 females in the Talensi District in the Upper East Region and Tamale Metro in the Northern region of Ghana with important life skills and competencies including improved confidence, ability to identify and challenge social norms, and gender-equal attitudes.
They acquired self-confident to practice safe and healthy sexual behaviour. The Local peer facilitators, aged 19-25years old called Champions4Life alak improved their confidence and facilitation skills as peer facilitators.
Situation Problem
Unsafe sex is one of the fastest growing and biggest health risks for young people worldwide.
In-school 10-14-year old girls and boys in Talensi and Tamale Metro districts in Ghana face multiple risks related to unsafe sex.
One in three girls in the Northern region marries before she is 15 (Demographic Health Survey, 2014).
38% of adolescent girls have experienced sexual violence (Ghana Statistical Services, 2016).
SRHR knowledge and awareness about harmful gender norms is low.
Many young people lack the life skills, confidence, and decision-making skills, as well as accurate and evidence-based information needed to make informed decisions.
In short, they are not empowered to practice safe and healthy sexual behaviour, contributing to health risks but also higher risk of dropping out of school. Traditional norms among duty bearers and service providers constitute another barrier for young people’s SRHR, and local peer facilitators may not have sufficient skills to deliver efficient programs. There is a need to build on the recent pilot project and scale current efforts in Ghana to address this.
Response Solution
The Journey4life model was used to empower young people (10-14yrs) to be confident, change attitudes, and challenge negative social norms to reduce sexual and gender-based violence, HIV and AIDS, STIs, and unplanned pregnancies among young people in Ghana. The Journey4Life is an evidence-based and innovative youth empowerment curriculum that uses dance, music, and youth culture to improve the Sexually and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) of young people. The model was complemented by the facilitation of recorded radio drama in communities.
