Co-Creating Contextually Appropriate Reproductive Health Education Teaching Approaches for 9-15 Year-Old Learners in the Upper East Region, Ghana

Despite Ghana’s notable progress in implementing sexual and reproductive health education, the introduction of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) has faced significant opposition from religious and traditional leaders, impeding the rollout of the guidelines in schools. CSE gives young people accurate, age-appropriate information about sexuality and their sexual and reproductive health, which is critical to their health and survival. There is a pressing need to standardize and normalize CSE implementation in Ghana to fulfil its policy commitment.

This research aims to study the means to enhance the capacity of teachers in Ghana’s Upper East Region to deliver practical, evidence-informed, rights-based comprehensive sexuality education to learners aged nine to 15. The project intends to develop and test teaching strategies that are engaging, culturally appropriate and gender-transformative, equipping adolescents to protect their physical and mental health and support the realization of their sexual and reproductive health needs.

The project will include an exploratory phase to examine CSE in the Ghanaian context, participatory development of, and training on, appropriate delivery methods and implementation and evaluation of delivery methods. Anticipated outcomes and impacts include improved guidelines and enhanced teacher engagement for CSE delivery; strengthened intersectoral and equitable CSE partnerships; and better sexual and reproductive health and rights outcomes for adolescents, particularly girls.

This project is supported by the Addressing Neglected Areas of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa initiative funded by IDRC, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Global Affairs Canada. Its primary objective is to support greater realization of critical sexual and reproductive health and rights by underserved populations in Africa.