The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection says pragmatic measures are being taken to eradicate the menace of teenage pregnancy in Ghana.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, the Central Regional Director of Gender, Mrs Thywill Eyra Kpe, said parents and guardians have a critical role to play in eliminating teenage pregnancy.
“We are working with parents in some regions. We have a community parent network of advocacy groups where we train, groups of parents, to take charge of some of these things and educate parents on their responsibility to address the issue of irresponsible parenting and all other issues relating to parents and their sexuality education for their children. So we are doing everything in our power to ensure that this issue is addressed.”
She added that the Ministry will soon educate men and boys on the consequences of impregnating girls below age sixteen.
“And then the men and boys are not left behind because we know that to be able to address adolescent pregnancy, we must target the men and boys. In the Central Region, for example, we have the men and boys club that we are establishing. So that the men and boys will understand that if you impregnate a girl below the age of 16, you could go to jail for it.”
Central Region records 3,198 teen pregnancies in 2020
There have been discussions on teenage pregnancy after the Central Region recorded a total of 3,198 teen pregnancies from January to May this year.
According to the Ghana Health Service (GHS), drivers, farmers, and teachers continue to be the group of men who are impregnating the teens in the region.
Teenage Pregnancy: Africa Education Watch pushes for flexible SHS re-entry for girls
According to Policy research and advocacy NGO, Africa Education Watch, its findings from research it conducted from 200 schools across the country reveal that the Free Senior High School system and the Coronavirus pandemic are contributory factors to the increase in the rate of teenage pregnancy.
Kofi Asare, the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, noted on the Citi Breakfast Show on September 10, 2020, that the current architecture of admissions under the free Senior High School system did not permit re-entry.
“The Free Senior High School programme gives students a unique ID number and that number is the basis for which the government pays your fees. That number is valid for only three years,” he explained.
He also said his NGO was engaging the Minister of Education and other stakeholders to come up with a more flexible admission into Senior High schools for girls who try to return to school after pregnancy.
