ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS EDUCATION ON YOUNG PEOPLE IN GHANA

TERMS OF REFERENCE

1) Background
Ghana has for decades had a young demographic base, ranking highly across the Africa region1. This favourable demographic dividend is however defied with significant challenges in health, education, and socio-economic factors. In health particularly, according to the most recent Maternal Health Survey in Ghana (2017), teenage pregnancy accounts for 11.2% of all pregnancies, and unsafe abortion is most common among young people aged 20 and under (29.9%). Contraceptives use among sexually active women is lowest among young people (9.8%); teenage pregnancy represents 11.2% of all pregnancies. Additionally, there has been a sharp rise in the prevalence of HIV among young individuals. According to the Ghana AIDS Commission’s 2020 National and Sub-National HIV and AIDS Report, out of the 13,982 new HIV infections that occurred, 5,211 affected people aged 15 to 24. Of those, 4,348 (or 83%) were women. Similarly, females accounted for approximately 92% of new infections among the 10-19 age bracket. Furthermore, issues of sexual and gender-based violence remain prevalent among young people2.