Wiomoa (C/R), Dec. 12, GNA – A total of 433 girls at the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese (AAK) District, aged between 10 and 19 years, got pregnant from January to December 2021, the District Health Directorate has said.
Of the number, three are children between ages 10 to 14, while the rest are 15 to 19 years.
Mrs Caroline Okai, the Adolescent Focal Person of the AAK Health Directorate, who made this known, identified drivers, fishermen, and barbers among those who impregnated the girls.
Mrs Okine was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the AAK Orange Ambassadors Club, established to give adolescents the platform to voice out their challenges to stop gender and sexual-based violence (SGBV) and teen pregnancies.
The Club, jointly instituted by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Mr Elvis Morris Donkor, the Member of Parliament for AAK, also helps adolescents to find appropriate means of channeling their worries.
Mrs Okai said a detailed sexual reproductive health education would help change the narrative and called on parents to help in the fight against the menace.
The broad aim of Adolescent Reproductive Health Interventions was to reduce the adverse consequences of sexual misbehaviour and improve their sexual life.
Aside abstinence, the GHS created awareness among adolescents about safe sexual practices to prevent sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.
Mrs Okai expressed optimism that the Orange Ambassadors Club would gain grounds and have a greater impact in the society.
Ghana had a youthful and vibrant population, compared to other countries, she said, and urged the youth to be hard-working, utilising their God given talents and help build Ghana into an economic giant free from teenage pregnancies.
The inaugural ceremony was on the theme: “Empowering Young People to Speak up on Issues of Sexual and Gender Based Violence, Teenage Pregnancy and Advocate for Adolescent Reproductive Health.”
GNA