Transactional sex; Upper East tops in teenage pregnancy

The Supervising Minister for Gender and children protection Honorable Cecilia Abena Dapaah has told parliament that, her ministry is fully aware of the situation in the Upper East Region and is implementing a Five-Year Strategic Plan to address Adolescent Pregnancy in Ghana (2018-2022) to remedy the situation.

The minister said this during an answer to a question possed by the member of parliament for Bui South Honorable Clement Apark asking the minister for Gender whether the ministry is aware that the Upper East Region recorded the most teenage pregnancies in Ghana in 2020, and what the ministry is doing to ensure that the region does not record the 6,533 cases it did going forward.

According to Honorable Cecilia,  the Ministry together with stakeholders undertook the following initiatives to reduce the phenomenon: 

Formed Parent Advocacy Groups and trained parents as advocates to support the sensitization drive on preventing adolescent pregnancies. 

 Also, Formed a Regional Child Protection Committee which meets quarterly to deliberate on interventions by various stakeholders in preventing Adolescent Pregnancies. 

Engaged traditional leaders in the districts on how to create awareness on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence including abstinence among adolescents to curb adolescent pregnancies. 

she added that the ministry Will Trained Queen Mothers in mentoring adolescent girls on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, Sex education, and abstinence who serve as mentors to the adolescent girls, 

The gender minister revealed that they will Engage the public through radio discussions on issues around Adolescent Pregnancy. 

Embarked on school out Pupils and students Health and Rights, reach programs to educate on their Sexual and Reproductive