The Bono Region recorded 14,877 teenage pregnancies from 2021 to 2024, Miss Rita Adjoa Ansong, the Deputy Director of Nursing Services and public Health at the Bono Regional Directorate of Health has said.
She said the region also recorded 1,188 cases of abortion within the same period, saying the pregnancies and the abortions were recorded among girls between 15 years and 19 years.
Ms Ansong was speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting on the African Vaccination Week (AVW), and the Child Health Promotion Week (CHPW) organised by the Bono Regional Directorate of Health in Sunyani.
In a breakdown, she said a total of 3,999 pregnancies and 388 cases of abortions were recorded in 2021, 4,058 pregnancies and 351 abortions in 2022 as well as 3,492 pregnancies, with 217 abortions in 2024 and 3,328 pregnancies and 282 abortions in 2024.
Describing the situation as worrying, Ms Asong called on stakeholders for support towards improvement in the region’s Family Planning (FP) coverage among sexually active teenage girls to stem the pregnancies.
She indicated that FP enabled girls to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health and thereby provided an opportunity for them to continue with their education.
Ms Ansong said certain myths and misconceptions, lack of community support, and outmoded cultural and religious beliefs obstructed girls and women from accessing the various methods of FP services.
She said the regional coverage for FP services offered in 2024 was 39.58 per cent of expected women and girls in their reproductive age as compared to 36.45 per cent in 2023.
The acceptor rate for 2024 showed an increased rate of 0.08 percent over the previous year, saying the marginal achievement was of partner collaboration and commodity supply, re-registration of long-acting reversible contraceptive method (LARC).
Ms Asong added that free services of commodities from Marie Stopes, DKT and the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) were also a key contributor towards improving the acceptor rate.
She emphasised that FP empowered women and girls to make informed choices about their future, leading to healthier pregnancies and reduced maternal deaths, and called on the stakeholders and the media to help intensify awareness creation and tackle the barriers.
Earlier, Dr Prince Quarshie, the Deputy Director of public Health at the Bono Regional Directorate of Health, explained that the objective of the meeting was to raise awareness among stakeholders and the public about the importance of immunization and the full spectrum of child health services available in the country.
It further served as a platform to strengthen collaboration among key stakeholders, including government agencies, development partners, community leaders, health professionals, and the media.
The AVW was established in 2010 by the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote immunization as a lifesaving intervention and is celebrated annually on the last week of April (24th to 30th).
Dr Quarshie explained that with the CHPW, was introduced in 2004 by the Ministry of Health to improve child survival rates in the country and observed on May 5th , to May 9th , focusing on nutrition, immunization and preventive care for children under five years.
GNA