EDITOR'S PREFACE

This  issue  of  the  Research  Review  contains  papers  from  the  seminar  on  Socio-Cultural
Dimensions of Reproductive Health and Human Development held in Legon in 2002.  These
papers  centre  on  the  theme  of  Sexual  Behaviour  and  its  Consequences  for  Health  and
Reproduction.  Another  set  was  published  as  Vol.18  No.l.  Additional  papers  will  be
published as Supplements to the Research Review.

Delali  Badasu's  paper  examines  the  policy  implications  of  the  variations  in  the  fertility
transition in Ghana.  It  discusses the  determinants  of the disparities  observed and the socio-
economic  development  policy  implications. 
It  also  considers  the  implications  of  the
disparities in the patterns and trends of fertility change for research /studies on the subject and
for  family  planning  /reproductive  health  programmes. 
It  recommends  adoption  of  more
equitable socio-economic  development policies in the country as a major  strategy to remove
the disparities in socio-economic  development which underlie the observed variations in this
demographic process.

In his paper, Chuks Mba reviews available literature and studies on sexual behaviour and the
risks  of  HIV/AIDS  and  other  STDs  among  young  people  in  some  Sub-Saharan  African
countries.  The  paper  discusses  the  evidence  of  premarital  sex  and  other  sources  of
vulnerability  and  risk-taking  among  young  people.  It  stresses  the  greater  risk  of  girls.  It
suggests  that governments  should  play  a  leading role  in  addressing the  problem, by putting
the reality of youth sexuality on the political agenda.

John K. Anarfi discusses the obstacles and resistance to sexual behavioural change among the
youth  in Ghana in the era of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  He considers the cultural inhibitions,
high illiteracy levels, poverty, misconceptions about sex and HIV/AIDS, Western influences,
among others.  The study  is based  on field work  conducted  in five administrative regions of
Ghana,  representing  each  of  the three  ecological  zones  in the  country.  It recommends  that
government must step up  its efforts  at  controlling  the disease, which is  affecting  mostly the
youth, by expanding both content and scope of programmes addressing the problem.

The subject of Clara Opare-Obisaw's paper is the relationship between nutrition and health. It
discusses the role of nutrition  in human  development  from  conception  to reproductive  age.
Focusing on the importance of maternal nutrition for development, she recommends measures
that  could be taken to meet  dietary  requirements  of women  so that the cycle  of poor health
and  nutrition that passes on from one generation  to  another could be broken.  She discusses
some findings on the nutritional status of mothers and children in Ghana and other countries.

Kodjo  Senah  examines  the  "non-medical"  issues  that  affect  maternal  mortality  in  Ghana.
These are the socio-cultural  factors  such  as taboos  about eating during pregnancy, delays in
arriving at health facilities  for  delivery due to transportation  problems, delays on the part of
medical  staff  in attending  to women  in  labour, among others.  The paper  also examines the
contribution  of  abortion  to  maternal  deaths.  He  points  out  that  though  the  socio-cultural
components  of maternal  mortality  are not  ignored  by governments,  the  tragedy of maternal
mortality  is gendered  because  of  the  political  voicelessness  and  financial  powerlessness  of
women.

ill

In  their paper,  Richard  Yeboah  and Monica  Kom  examine  some  aspects  of  abortion  cases
admitted to the Chenard  Ward of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital during the years 2000 and
2001.  They consider the reasons given by the patients for aborting their pregnancies and the
social effects  of the abortions.  They also make policy recommendations that can be  adopted
to address the problems of abortion -  health, social, and psychological -  experienced by the
patients.

In her paper Laetitia Hevi-Yiboe examines how Tugbewowo, the puberty rites of the people of
Dodome  in  the  Ho  District,  could  be  repackaged  and  used  as a  family  resource  to  address
problems of early  childbearing  in that area.  She suggests that families  must be  empowered
financially  to  be  able  to  use  this  resource  and  also  stresses  the  need  to  research  into  the
practice to understand it so that it could be modernized.

Delali Badasu

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