Chiefs and elders of Konko,Timber Nkwanta and surrounding farming communities in Akuapem North Municipality in Eastern are worried over rising cases of teenage pregnancy in the communities.
The chiefs are blaming some farm labourers who migrate from the Northern and Bono parts of the country farm tomatoes and other vegetables in the area during the planting season .
They however admits that some of the perpetrators inhabitants in the communities .
According to Ankobeahene of Konko Nana Bekoe, the chiefs have banned children and teenagers from attending wake-keeping however the menace persists.
Unfortunately,some of these impregnated teenage girls are betrothed to cohabitate with their perpetrators.
Teenage pregnancy is a major challenge in Eastern region.
A total of 1,018 teenage pregnancies were recorded in the region in 2020.
The region was ranked the second region with the highest number of teenage pregnancies after Ashanti Region during the period.
In 2021 the menace increased by 12.4% according to the Ghana Health Service.
According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census 79,733 girls in Ghana aged 12 to 17 have been married or cohabitating with a man.
Out of the number,25,999 are girls aged 12 to 14 years.
The education of these girls are often truncated.
Address these challenges,Plan International Ghana has mobilized Stakeholders including Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) ,Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit(DOVVSU) ,Ghana Education Service (GES), Ghana Health Service (GHS) , community leaders, among other to implement phase II of an intervention dubbed “Be Smart ,Learn and Stay in School Project” to deal with the menace and other forms of gender based violence in selected communities in Jasikan in Oti Region, Upper Manya Krobo districts and Akuapem North Municipality in Eastern region.
Sulaemana Gbana , Southern project officer ,Plan International Ghana stated that, the first Phase of the Project achieved its target as teenage pregnancy cases significantly reduced in the three districts while awareness creation led to rise in reporting of gender based violence among teenage girls in particular.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Obed Ansah
