Three institutions collaborate to fight teenage pregnancy

The Nkoranza Municipal Assembly in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES), the Department of International Development (DFID) of Britain and youth organisations has initiated strategies to address the upsurge of teenage pregnancy in the municipality.

These include the establishment of adolescent corners, training peer educators, and forming youth groups and clubs to undertake educational campaigns to inform the people about the causes of teenage pregnancy and the consequences.

Madam Winifred Tienaah, Nkoranza Municipal Director of Health Services, announced this in a report on Reproductive Child Health Care activities and programmes at a meeting attended by about 60 health workers at Nkoranza.

She expressed concern about sexual promiscuity among the youth and warned that if teenage pregnancy was not controlled it would have adverse effects on teenage mothers and development of the municipality.

Madam Tienaah said some girls between 10 and 14 years were becoming pregnant and, therefore, urged religious and traditional leaders, assembly members, civil society and stakeholders to take the lead in the campaign against the challenge in the communities.

She said there were 15 health facilities in the area with Saint Theresa’s Catholic Hospital at Nkoranza serving as the only referral point for both the municipality and Nkoranza North District and 208 Community Based Surveillance (CBS) volunteers supporting health delivery services in Primary Health Care and surveillance in the communities.

Madam Tienaah urged pregnant women to register with the health facilities to ensure safe delivery, while women participate in family planning to prevent unwanted pregnancies.