The Upper West Regional Focal Person on Adolescent Health Services, Pognaa Rosemary Bangzie, is calling for more stakeholder efforts and financial support for teenage mothers who have returned to school.
She indicated that due to the re-entry policy by the Ghana Education Service (GES), it was possible for teenage mothers to return to school during unplanned pregnancies or after delivery, however, the intervention was plagued by the inability of some of the girls to financially cater for themselves and their babies while in school.
“These are girls who mostly got pregnant because of poverty and because their families did not provide them with some basic things in life, so to think that they have brought in an extra child, will the parents be able to cater for both of them?” she queried.
Ms Bangzie made the call at a programme by the Curious Minds, a child-centred organisation on Tuesday at Wa to educate the youth on adolescent reproductive health.
Although she was excited that over 50 girls had been sent back to school under a UNICEF supported programme dubbed “Safety Net Project” which was being implemented by her outfit, the Ghana Health Service, some of the girls, she said, were in need of financial assistance.
She mentioned that for the first half of this year, the region recorded eight per cent cases of teenage pregnancy as against 10.8 per cent for the same period last year, following interventions put in place to curb the phenomenon.
“In 2020 and 2021, teenage pregnancy in the region stood at 11 per cent, but was reduced to 9.9 in 2022, although the decline has been steady, we are still glad that we are making a bit of progress,” she said.
Touching on some of the interventions, she mentioned the creation of 75 adolescent health clubs in basic schools and among out-of-school adolescent girls across the region with specific monthly and quarterly meetings with trained health staff on reproductive health issues.
FROM LYDIA DARLINGTON FORDJOUR, WA
