By Agbaxode Emmanuel
Akatsi (VR), Aug. 13, GNA – The Akatsi South Municipality recorded 177 teenage pregnancies between January and June 2026, accounting for 13.2 per cent of all pregnancies registered during the period.
The figure comprised seven girls aged between 10 and 14 years and 170 aged between 15 and 19 years, exceeding the national target of below 11.5 per cent.
Mrs. Justine Sefakor Alornyo, the Municipal Director of Health Services, described teenage pregnancy as the municipality’s “most troubling indicator” and said the situation demanded a response beyond the health sector.
She said the seven pregnancies involving girls aged 10 to 14 years were particularly worrying, stressing that teenage pregnancy was not only a health issue but also a social, educational and child protection failure.
Mrs. Alornyo said the Directorate would intensify adolescent sexual and reproductive health outreach, targeting both school-based and out-of-school adolescents in electoral areas recording high teenage pregnancy rates.
She said the directorate would also convene a multi-sectoral response involving the Municipal Assembly, Ghana Education Service, Department of Social Welfare, Ghana Police Service, traditional authorities and religious leaders.
According to her, cases involving girls aged 10 to 14 years must, in every instance, be treated as child protection matters and referred appropriately.
Mrs. Alornyo said the Directorate would also strengthen community-based antenatal care mobilisation through CHPS compounds, community health volunteers and traditional birth attendants to improve early booking.
She said although antenatal care registration improved during the period, 1,337 pregnant women, representing 68.9 per cent coverage, were registered, leaving roughly three in 10 pregnant women still not reaching health facilities early enough or at all.
Mrs Alornyo has since called for stronger community collaboration to address the factors contributing to teenage pregnancy and improve maternal and adolescent health outcomes.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Agbaxode Emmanuel
Reporter’s email address: [email protected]