The Paramount Chief of the Akwamu Traditional Area, Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III, has called for concerted efforts to educate young men to respect and protect girls from all forms of danger including teenage pregnancy.
Omanhene Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III believes doing this would help end the worsening teenage pregnancy situation in the country.
Speaking at a durbur at Akwamufie in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region yesterday to mark this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III said the cycle of poverty would be broken if the teenage pregnancy menace was ended.
This year’s International Day of the Girl Child was on the theme “My body is my own – Amplifying young girls’ voices and sharing their unique stories.”
According to statistics from the Ghana Health Service, 109,888 girls between the ages of 10 and 19 were pregnant in 2020 among which 2,865 were between 10 to 14 years.
“Too often in Ghana, girls are burdened with the blame and responsibility of unplanned pregnancies whilst the young men responsible escape relatively unscathed.
“Therefore, it is important from an early age, boys and young men are also educated to respect and protect girls.
“When children are born to children, the cycle of poverty continues and this is a cycle we must all work hard to break,” Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III stated.
Girls, the traditional ruler said were leaders, change makers and the future of every nation hence the need to protect and invest in them.
“They are the fundamental source of transformational change and as a society, we owe a responsibility to our girls to provide a safe space where they can share their experiences publicly and ask for help without fear of judgement and or unwelcome scrutiny,” Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III added.
He threw his weight behind any efforts aimed to reduce the teenage pregnancy menace in the country “as a father to both sons and daughters” in the Akwamu area and Ghana at large.
The Member of Parliament of Asuogyaman, Thomas Ampem Nyarko, described the teenage pregnancy situation in the country as “scary and near crisis” which needs urgent steps from all stakeholders for same to be addressed.
He called for the prosecution of men who impregnate the teenage girls especially the ones below the age of 16 in line with the criminal offences act of the country.
The District Chief Executive of the area, Sam Kwame Agyekum, said government attached seriousness to the issue of teenage pregnancy and would channel resources to combat the menace not only in Asuogyaman but across the country.
FROM JULIUS YAO PETETSI, AKWAMUFIE
