Kwahu East District battles teenage pregnancy

A consultant on Reproductive Health (RH) has suggested that RH messages should be packaged and targeted at teenagers in the Kwahu East District to help reduce teenage pregnancy in the district.

He also called for variation of the platforms to be used to present the messages to include faith based institutions to ensure that as many of the teenagers get the message.

Mr Kwabina Esia-Donkor of the Population and Health Department of the University of Cape Coast was presenting a report on project assessment and sustainability at an experience sharing workshop.

The project is to improve reproductive health in the Kwahu East District with funding from the Japanese Government at Koforidua.

The project was implemented by the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) in partnership with the Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP) in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Kwahu East District Assembly.

The project involved the construction of four Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds at Aguadzekrom, Bonkrase, Hyewohoden and Sampoa with a referral reproductive health facility at Kotoso, all along the Volta Lake.

The project also provided a referral boat for the transfer of patients from the CHPS compounds to the Reproductive Health Center at Kotoso through the Volta Lake.

Mr Esia-Donkor said almost all the targets set for the project between 2011 and 2014 had been achieved except the issue of teenage pregnancy.

Dr Catheing Dawson-Amoah, the Executive Director of PPAG, appealed to all stakeholders who have made commitments to the project to fulfill their promises to ensure success of the second phase of the project when the Japanese funding stops.

Mr Joshua Mainoo, President of PPAG, called for more focus on financial sustainability of the project.

Mr Jerry A. Amoafo, the Kwahu East District Planning Officer who represented the District Chief Executive, said the Assembly had decided to construct a septic tank at the nurses’ quarters at the Kotoso Reproductive Health Centre, connect water to the center when the Kwahu Water Project is completed.

It will rehabilitate the road leading to the Kotoso RHC and construct a bungalow for a medical officer to be posted to the centre.

Mr Fred Ofosu, the District Director of Health Services, said the district had no hospital and was divided into 20 CHPS zones with only six functioning CHPS compounds.

He said through the project, the district had now benefitted from additional four CHPS compounds and a RHC and increased access to reproduction health in the district.

Ms Etsuko Ito, Coordinator for Japanses Economic Cooperation who represented the Japanese Ambassador, said the Japanese Government had so far supported the construction of 70 CHPS Compounds in Ghana to help the country to meet the millennium Development Goals on reproductive health.

Earlier in a welcoming address, the Eastern Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Charity Sarpong, said the Region has high fertility rate, low usage of condoms and high maternal mortality.

Therefore, she said, any effort at improving access to reproductive health services is very welcomed and thanked the Japanese government and the entire stakeholder who played roles to ensure the success of the project.