By: Fred Duhoe | Voltaonlinegh.com |
The Keta Municipal Health Director, Madam Perfect Titiati has expressed worry over the alarming teenage pregnancy rate being recorded in the Volta Region specifically in the Keta Municipality.
Madam Titiati who considered the situation as very worrying, revealed that the region placed third in the 2017 records of teenage pregnancy in the country.
“Statistics from our health records show that Volta Region recorded a total of 10,041 teenage pregnancies in 2017 representing 14.6% with about 239 between the ages of 10-14 years.”
She added that by the end of September 2018, the region had recorded a total of 7,236 teenage pregnancies representing 14.2 per cent placing the region at 3rd followed by Brong Ahafo and Upper East regions.
The Health Director made the disclosure at a durbar of students, parents and teachers at Keta Senior High Technical School (KETASCO) campus organised by the Keta Municipal Health Directorate in collaboration with National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ghana Education Service (GES) and Health Keepers, a non-governmental organisation.
The Durbar which was under the theme: “Teenage Pregnancy or Academic Certificate?” was to sensitise and educate the adolescent girl to choose their “Books before Babies” by abstaining from premarital sexual activities in an attempt to aimed arrest teenage pregnancy in the municipality.
Madam Titiati underscored the need for the education saying, in the unlikely event that these teenagers get pregnant, their parents must commit all their time and resources to ensure proper healthcare to avoid needless deaths.
The NCCE Boss, Ms. Josephine Nkrumah advised the students to consider their books as partners, stay focused and look up to successful women in high places and make them their role models.
“Parents, religious leaders, teachers and everyone will talk to you but the responsibility is much more on you the child. Hence, choose books and acquire good academic certificates over a few minutes’ pleasure of sex.”
She entreated every girl child to desist from asking money from boys and men who are not their parents and report any man who tries to take advantage of them for the laws to deal with such people, saying, “age 16 and below is considered a compulsory rape age” requiring punitive measures be taken against men who abuse girls of those ages.
The NCCE Director further admonished adolescent girls to read books to empower themselves while calling on parents to supervise what their children watch on television and other media spaces which have socially corrupt contents.
Source: www.voltaonlinegh.com
