INTRODUCING THE NEW YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD


The need for Youth participation at all levels has been ‘the talk of town’ from time immemorial. With slogans like “nothing for us without us”, “if I can vote, I can lead”, “we are the future leaders” etc, generations have been screaming this crucial need; some of us came to reap the benefits of such efforts and asked for more. We asked to move from tokenism, representation without participation, consultations with no clear promise of implementing recommendations, engagement only at the implementation level etc. to “meaningful youth participation” and demanded for not just governments, but organizations to be kept accountable for that.
Meaningful Youth Participation strategically ensures that young people are engaged at all stages of decision-making in organizations and can participate on equal terms at all necessary levels.  As a youth-serving organization, it was therefore prudent that Marie Stopes Ghana (MSG)  put in place a sustainable measure to enable meaningful and structural youth participation, to ensure responsive and tailor-made programs as well as promote the empowerment and civic engagement of young people.




Accordingly, MSG in March 2017 introduced a nine-member youth advisory board which acted as a liaison between the youth of Ghana and the organization and represent the youth voice of MSG on various youth related advocacy issues in its country program. Since its inception, the Youth Advisory board has been working closely with the Advocacy and Youth unit to propose, plan and implement activities to increase access to, and utilization of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) information and services by adolescents and young people, whilst also advocating for an enabling environment for the implementation of adolescent and youth SRHR in Ghana.
The maiden youth advisory board of Marie Stopes Ghana served a three(3) years term and on the 14th of March 2020, officially handed over to a new team of 11 vibrant young people, who are to sustain its good works, while developing new interventions to advance SRHR for young people in Ghana. Over the next two years, MSG will provide opportunities for this 11-member Youth Advisory Board to work on a voluntary basis with MSG, like their predecessors, to improve services and programmes for young people in Ghana, within the context of national guiding policies, laws and protocols. The board has undergone its official induction and shall be enabled through periodic capacity building to represent the youth voice of MSG on various youth –related advocacy issues within and outside Ghana.
The new board will also take over and continue to engage the wider youth population on prevailing SRHR issues and receive inputs into its work via this blog. We hope you accord them the same support and patronage you gave their predecessors, to enable them achieve their set goals.

Congratulations to the new board with its all-female executive team, we are thrilled to welcome you into the Marie Stopes Ghana Family, and wish you the very best in your tenure. 

 Left-right: Emmanuella Amoako -YAB secretary, Esi Asare Prah-  Advocacy officer, Ewuramah Danquah- YAB chair, Emerald Viera -YAB member, Abdul Hanan - YAB member, Patience Ampomah - YAB member, Phyllis Wontumi – Head of HR, Esther Ashiabor- YAB member , Patricia Antwi-Bosiako -Dep. Dir. -Operations,  Precious Kwame Adade - YAB member , Anne Coolen -Country director, Mohammed Hafiz - YAB member, Nana Adwoa- YAB member, Nana Kwesi- YAB member, Dzidzor Kwamuar-YAB PRO


Credit: Esi Asare Prah - Advocacy Officer/Youth Focal Person





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