The Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate reports that approximately 86 percent of adolescent pregnancies in Tema are attributed to men aged between 20 and 39 years old.
Doris Ocansey, the Adolescent Health Advocate for the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate, shared this information during an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA). She explained that this conclusion was drawn from research conducted on the backgrounds of the men responsible for impregnating these girls, particularly in areas like Tema Manhean.
Ms. Ocansey said, “We collected the data so that we can also focus on the adults since they are impregnating the girls.”
Ms. Ocansey highlighted that due to the age gap between adolescent girls and their partners, it is challenging for the girls to insist on condom use to prevent pregnancies. The data also revealed that most of the pregnant girls were junior high school graduates.
She urged men to refrain from engaging with adolescent girls to allow them to focus on their education and careers instead of becoming pregnant at a young age.
Ms. Ocansey noted that between January and December 2023, a total of 355 pregnant adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14, and 331 between the ages of 15 and 19, were enrolled in the safety net programme in the municipality. This programme helps health officials monitor and support the pregnant adolescents until delivery.
“For some of the girls, this was not their first pregnancy, but their second or third. We want to stop that, so if you make the mistake of getting pregnant, you won’t have to fall back into it again,” she said.
Ms. Ocansey further explained that the safety net program aimed to reduce repeated pregnancies among adolescents, lower maternal mortality and morbidity rates, and increase postpartum family planning practices.
Out of the total enrolled in the program, 42 of the pregnant adolescents were attending school before becoming pregnant. Specifically, four were in primary school, 26 in junior high school, and 12 in senior high school.
To prevent the girls from engaging in risky behaviors like transactional sex after delivery, they assist them in deciding whether to return to school or pursue a trade.
As of December 2023, 108 of the girls had chosen to return to school after giving birth, 146 had opted for vocational training, 30 intended to enter into trading, and 37 were undecided about their future plans after delivery.