It has been revealed that the Wa West District recorded a staggering 3,209 cases of teenage pregnancies between 2012 and 2018.
This is according to reports by district health officials, who say many more cases are yet to be accounted for because they have neither been documented nor reported.
Between 2013 and 2016, there were 1,753 teenage pregnancy cases also recorded in six sub-health districts in the country.
The GNA reports that the victims often abandon schooling for trading, while those who defy the outmoded cultural practice of early marriage face community or parental neglect.
READ ALSO: Ghanaian celebrities who are against the new parliamentary chamber
To this end, the National Youth Authority (NYA) in partnership with Plan International Ghana has called for a concerted effort to sustain the fight against high teenage pregnancies.
District Director of Ghana Health Service, Clifford Veng, believes outmoded socio-cultural practices have played a role in this menace.
He pointed to early and forced marriages, child betrothals and elopement of young girls as norms that are still prevalent in the Wa West District and other districts.
Meanwhile, the acting Upper West Regional Director of NYA, Archibald Donkoh, also advised the youth to avoid any activities that have the tendency to affect their future endeavours.
“We believe that you are part of the solution to the challenges you are encountering,” Mr. Donkoh added.
READ ALSO: Only the best nurses will be posted abroad – Health Ministry
The theme for the youth-led advocacy meeting was: “The prevalence rate of teenage pregnancy in the Wa West District, its health and educational consequences and the way forward”.
