At a Durbar of students, parents and teachers at the Keta Senior High Technical School (Ketasco), Madam Titiati revealed the Volta Region placed third in the 2017 records of teenage pregnancy, a situation she described as very worrying
“Statistics from our health records show that Volta Region recorded a total of 10,041 teenage pregnancies in 2017 representing 14.6% with about 239 between the ages of 10 and 14years”.
By end of September 2018, the region has recorded a total of 7,236 teenage pregnancies representing 14.2%. This places the Volta Region at 3rd place in Ghana followed by Brong Ahafo and Upper East regions.
The Ghana Demographic and Health Survey report of 2014 revealed Volta Region had the highest number of teenage pregnancies as high as 22.1% above the National average of 14% this she described as very alarming and urgent steps must be adopted by all stakeholders in tackling the situation.
It’s against this backdrop that the Keta Municipal Health Directorate in collaboration with National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ghana Education Service (GES) and Health Keepers a Non-governmental Organisation is sensitizing and educating the girl child to choose their “Books Before Babies” by abstaining from premarital sexual activities.
She was with the belief that, in the unlikely event that these teenagers get pregnant, parents must commit all their time and resources to ensure proper healthcare to avoid needless deaths.
Speaking as the invited guest to the Durbar, the NCCE boss, Ms. Josephine Nkrumah admonished the students to consider their books as partners.
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Source: Mynewsgh
