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A United Kingdom based non-governmental organisation- DFID/Future, has
launched a 10.9 million pound project aimed at providing sexual
reproductive health services to adolescent girls in the Berekum
Municipality.
Under the three- year project, being supervised by the Municipal
Directorate of Health, adolescent health centres will be set-up in
some communities to enable teenagers easy access sex education and
other family planning services.
Dr Osei Kuffour-Afreh, Berekum Municipal Director of Health Services,
who made this known to Ghana News Agency in an interview on Wednesday,
said teenage pregnancy is gaining alarming proportion in the
municipality.
He said the area recorded 700 cases of teenage pregnancy in 2012 and
660 in 2013, adding that though statistics for 2014 is not yet
available, there is indication that cases would increased.
Dr Kuffour-Afreh explained that the project would provide free sexual
education, contraceptives and safe family planning methods to help
reduce teenage pregnancy and other sexual transmitted infections among
girls.
He noted that some outmoded cultural practices are contributory
factors to teenage pregnancy in many of the communities as some
parents encourage their adolescent girls to practice early sexual
intercourse with men.
This practice, Dr Kuffour-Afreh said had increased sexual promiscuity
among adolescent girls in the area who also engage in unprotected sex.
He pointed out that because of this unsafe abortion had been a major
social challenge in the municipality.
Dr Kuffour-Afreh said many of the girls end up in various health
complications and sometimes died on arrival at the hospital as a
result of excessive bleeding.
–
Credit: GNA
